The Lords of Time
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: AU, VERY AU. what if Lorien had landed on Earth and changed the destiny of Humanity ? What if Humans conquered not just space, but time itself ? Slight Doctor Who crossover in terms of ideas. Feedback is appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**A/ n. I DON'T OWN BABYLON 5 OR ITS CHARACTERS. **

**The Lords of Time.**

**Prologue. The History of the Time Lords.**

The Time lords began in the time of the First ones.

In the early universe, there were forces prowling around the galaxies. Forces greater and more mysterious than those seen in the future.

The First Ones. Ancient, all powerful super beings. They solved the greater mysteries of the universe, developed incredible, unique, powerful ships and technologies.

They were true pioneers, travelling through space and explored the many galaxies in the universe. They were the supreme beings of the universe. Old, powerful and very dangerous. They did not like to be disturbed by the younger races, they could swat planets as if they were insects and not even realise they were doing it.

Each race had empires, which later fell into decay and became a memory, even to the ones who forged them.

They were also childish. Two races had problems with one another and caused problems with the others. One race went to war with the others, believing that strength, true strength, was only possible if it came from conflict.

The philosophy is simple enough to understand; bring 2 sides together and they fight. A lot die on both sides and the survivors are stronger, smarter and better than the ones who died. As generations came and went, both sides became stronger with new tech coming into place. The Shadows themselves had gone to war with the other ancient races, they had become more advanced as time passed in many fields, surpassing the others by a wide margin.

The race was known as the Shadows, since their real name is one thousand letters long and VERY hard to pronounce were proof of that. They were the oldest of the First Ones, except for Lorien, the original first one to achieve sentience, and had incredibly advanced tech.

Their ships were tough, powerful and very hard to destroy and they could phase in and out of hyperspace, something not discovered by any of the older races. But they had several issues; they were vulnerable to telepaths as it damaged or disabled their tech.

The second and far serious issue was the need to use a living being for their central operating core, a being from one of the developing younger races.

This was one of the many reasons why the other First ones fought the Shadows, in order to protect the younger races.

The second race was known as the Vorlons.

The Vorlons were ethereal beings of light, hidden behind a psychic cloak when they encountered beings and kept themselves hidden at all times in bulky encounter suits, a trait most First Ones had abandoned as they grew more used to their new forms.

In their natural forms, they appeared as an evolved from of cephalopod, a vestigial hint of their aquatic ancestry.

The Vorlons were explorers, charting new and wonderful territories. They helped races discover jump gate technology, the science to enter and leave hyperspace. But, they kept the basic science to themselves.

They didn't need to. There are many ways of entering or exiting hyperspace.

They were known as Lords of Order, to the Shadows Lords of Chaos.

Two sides of the same coin.

The Vorlons can be described as parents or school teachers, both want the best for their charges, they want their charges to dress neatly, eat properly and play by the rules. A philosophy which was limited because the Vorlons were held back because of the simple and undeniable fact that they didn't like growth.

Unfortunately, the Shadows and Vorlons didn't realise that their similarities, which were to help guide the younger races into becoming better than the First ones, blinded them to their differences as well.

War.

Endless war between the two races. A war which drove many of the ancient races to leave the galaxy and pass beyond the rim and explore the waste in between the many galaxies.

Lorien at the time was travelling the galaxy, trying to avoid the issue of an argument he'd been trying hard to solve for aeons.

One his travels, he came across a planet in a remote solar system.

There was a diversity of life, including a race of ape organisms. They were highly intelligent and social and friendly towards Lorien.

The ancient one decided that these creatures, already walking upright and possessing superior intelligence to other life forms on the planet, would one day come out into the stars and change destiny.

Deciding to help wasn't difficult for Lorien. He hated war. It was pointless. Wasteful. Deciding to get back to breathing wisdom again was not a decision he had any hesitation in performing.

He decided to transfer his own knowledge and created a unique pathogen to spread throughout the atmosphere. As he transferred his knowledge, all of it, every piece of tech knowledge, every bit of different variety of sciences, he created the pathogen.

The idea was the pathogen would increase the evolution of the apes and accelerate it. The pathogen would introduce telepathy, higher brain functions and increased longevity, not enough for immortality but a comfortable lifetime.

Hundreds of years after Lorien left the planet, his hopes became a reality.

And more.

The apes, renamed Humans, became proficient in their new found knowledge. They started evolving, becoming more upright, their features becoming more like those of common alien life forms. Their brains were now able to separate instinct from rationality. They became more powerful in terms of intelligence. They were good with their hands and came up with many early tools and weapons fashioned on nature.

They no longer feared predators because they were now able to outthink them.

They no longer lived in caves or in trees, they built huts made of wood, later clay. Then bricks and mortar. Their early buildings were connected to a small aqueduct.

They created fire and the wheel to start them on the road of technology. Then they started forging metals, basic ones - bronze, iron and tin. 300 years later they possessed steel and titanium and strong alloys and composites.

10,000 years after that, steam powered airships explored the planet. They were beautifully made, with strong hulls and mapmaking materials.

120 years later, the humans built their first hyperspace cruiser, complete with crystal technology. They later created hyper drive tech, simply folding 2 separate points of hyperspace together and creating an opening to travel through it. This banished the time and shortened distances between the stars.

A space folding drive, using the concept of the wormhole, was invented - which made the need for an alternate space travel system obsolete.

A similar technology was the hyperspace teleportation system, simply using the hyper drive tech and improving it tenfold. It enabled travellers to cross light years without the need for starships. The Humans were able to pass beyond their own solar system in waves, something they did with incredible subtlety, the Vorlons and their allies were still in the galaxy and the Humans remembered a great deal of what Lorien had passed over to them, the fact the Vorlons seemed to enjoy pitting races to fight against their ancient adversary.

The humans were not ready for a confrontation with either race. But, if both older races interfered, they would regret it. The humans now possessed weapons capable of turning a sun into a super nova, or worse. The Vorlons and the Shadows were so caught up in their private little war that they missed the emergence of a more powerful and dangerous race.

As the saying goes, do not wake the dragon.

The Humans were a peace loving race, but even so, the instinct of their ancestors was hard to throw aside. They would never hesitate to go to war.

If the Vorlons or Shadows decided to attack or manipulate the Humans, they would reduce Vorlon and Z'ha dum to burned out cinders, circling a dead star.

Those that died would by the lucky ones.

The humans had a gift for taking the basic principles of a simple science and going through all the passages of the maze to create even more advantages to the technique. The crystal computers were later laced with bio neural fibres for greater processing power for instance.

The hyperspace travel systems they'd devised were another great example of the ingenuity of the Humans.

With their new vessels and space travel tech, they travelled far and wide, made contact with many races and civilisations, soaking up their numerous knowledge like a sponge in water. They travelled beyond the rim, travelling to other galaxies and set up colonies and outposts all connected to their space fold network. As they charted the universe, they studied the nature of the universe.

After encountered various races, who were oblivious to who they were at the time, the humans were introduced to the concept of time travel. Something even the first ones barely touched because of the inherent risks involved with such a concept.

Time.

A great mystery to other races seemed so simple to humanity.

This was because something in the pathogen which accelerated their evolutionary development also gave them a remarkable relationship with time.

The Humans were lucky, unlike other races, they didn't need war to promote evolution; they were united by a high degree of natural telepathy, something the first ones didn't possess.

What one human knew, the others knew.

They started a great project.

The greatest project ever.

The conquest of time

The Age of the Time Lords was about to begin.


	2. Chapter 2 The Time Vortex

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Time Vortex.**

Hyperspace was like being in a sea of water undergoing a typhoon, thought Time Star Officer Ryan with a smile. Indeed, in a sense, it was. It had tides and possessed an echo of the Big Bang, the great event which gave birth to the very universe itself.

It was gratifying that something so simple as hyperspace would be used by the Human race to start their greatest and most ambitious project.

The conquest of time.

Ryan looked out of the exo glass window in front of him and looked out. The view was taken in by the vast sight in front of him.

A 1,000 mile long cylindrical form made of a shimmering material. There was another cylinder joined to it by a beam of faint light energy.

The two halves of the time vortex generator.

Ryan stared at the two behemoths, awed by what the Human race had done. The humans had spent 2 years building them, experimenting with the science of basic temporal mechanics.

The generator was going to be sent into the future using a faster than light drive which brought into it time dilation, which was one of the most problematic issues with such tech, but which the Humans would take advantage of.

Magic.

Grinning, he turned to his first mate, Andrew Benson, navigator first class. The young man was also staring out the viewport with an expression of awe.

" Beautiful, isn't it ?"

Andrew jumped, startled and turned to him and smiled, " Yeah. Hard to believe in the next hour we will become the lords of time and space."

Ryan nodded. The Humans had been waiting for this achievement, not just because it would set them apart from other races but also because the human race would later gather more knowledge about other realities. Other dimensions would be open to them.

Temporal mechanics came naturally to humanity. They had made many experiments into the nature of time for the last 100 years. They now had time capable ships, but that wasn't enough. They needed to understand it better and this was the only way. Their experiments into hyperspace was a benefit, because hyperspace was a form of space which was distorted, even with out human interference.

The Vortex generator was the cornerstone of Human time travel technology. They were going to become the lords of time.

The Time Lords of the planet Earth.

The generator was activated and power pulsed through it. The drive was readied and engaged. The generator was ready for launch.

Ryan and Andrew were checking over the dials and controls.

They were checking them off one by one.

" Black hole reactors primed."

" Hyperspace taps primed and ready."

" Faster than light drive in future conduit unit ready and fully charged."

" Speedometer ready."

Andrew looked at his fellow officer. " Everything's ready."

Ryan's hands flew over the controls. " T minus 1 minute to launch. …..57.…..53 seconds….44 seconds…..32.…29.…..24.…..22.…20.….19.…" The future section of the generator started pulsing power into the propulsion units,"…16." the hyperspace taps started working…" 10.…..9.…8.…7.…..6.…..5.…..4 seconds….3.…..2.…1.…zero."

" Launch in progress."

The vortex started moving, pulsing with light then…..it disappeared in a flash of blue light.

But Andrew was calm. " Temporal tracker picking the cylinder up. It working. The cylinder has already passed 200 thousand years, speed increasing. Time dilation building. Thank the gods the temporal tracker can work through time dilation. 100 million years…..1 billion 6 hundred thousand years…10 billion years…the reading is still strong."

" Steady."

For a moment he watched the meter he was recording, then, " 200 years before the end of the universe….150.….100.…56.…23.….10.…..5.…2.…1.…..1 and three quarters…it's arrived."

Ryan's hand was resting on a lever and just as soon as his fellow had finished. " Locked now." he cried.

Andrew looked at him, then turned to his controls. " Hyperspatial folding in progress. Binding it to vortex now."

Outside the Vortex cylinder glowed from the point the 2 pieces were joined and then, a bright flash of blue light appeared as a connection between the past and future sections of the warp tunnel generator was activated, creating a corridor through time. It was present from the time the generator was activated to the end of the physical universe itself. The inside of the Vortex was now outside normal space time and on a non linear plain.

The past before the activation was inaccessible of course, but there was nothing the Humans could do about that little fact.

The hyperspace taps generated the energy necessary for the production of 2 black holes being generated on both sides of the devices. This energy would help sustain the vortex on both sides.

Hyperspace was folded in layers around the cylinder, providing a spatial capability to the time cylinder - any time machine used would be able to travel to any when and anywhere in the universe. The folding resembled a bubble composed of multiple layers.

The energy from hyperspace was purified and enriched with the quantum gravimetric energies produced by the black holes and were being pulsed through the new time corridor between the 2 points in time and space. The energy was being sent over 10 years into the future and became time energy.

That same energy would help forge a new beginning for Humanity, a new era of science and technology. That energy would allow the Humans to observe, document and record the universe in ways no other race or being could ever imagine/

The Time Vortex was working.

The Age of the Time Lords had begun and would only end when the universe collapsed.

_100 years later….._

Newly gazetted Time Lords Andrew and Ryan looked up from their control panels and grinned at one another. Since the success of the Time vortex generator, they were now among the most influential Time lords ever. They'd spent the last century studying the vortex and how to manipulate it.

Now, they were piloting a machine capable of crossing the barriers of time, space and reality respectfully. The machine itself operated outside linear time itself.

Unlike the primitive time travel technologies used by other races.

As they went along, the Time lords started the creation of a vehicle which could traverse the vortex and now they's succeeded with the first full scale model.

Andrew stared at another Time lord. " Ready ?"

The other Time Lord, Cyrus, looked up and said, " Yes. Ready for rematerialisation….now."

" Rematerialise."

At once, the sound of the time and space machine had changed, then a _clang _noise reverberated through the ship. The Time lords looked at one another, elation and awe filling them.

Then Ryan spoke up, drawing their attention. " Right. Andrew, check the environment outside. Cyrus, check the temporal and spatial co-ordinates. Lucy, contact Temporal control. Advise them that Omni experiment has been a success."

As the Time Lords checked their instruments, Cyrus spoke up, once again drawing the attention of the crew. " Ryan, we're in galaxy NGC 1300," he paused as the others looked at one another. Galaxy NGC 1300 was a barred spiral galaxy, 110,000 light years across. It was located in the constellation of Eridanus, 61 million light years from home.

Even their usual hyper drive tech wouldn't get them their for sometime and the teleport hyperspace system only had a range of 40 million light years. But, the time ship was able to manipulate the lower levels of hyperspace, which enabled a faster rate of travel, since the deeper in hyperspace you went, the faster and shorter the journey was.

Cyrus didn't stop, " Our temporal co-ordinates are…year 2378 AD."

_**The creation of the Time vortex was one of the greatest achievements of the Time lord race on a whole. It allowed access to previously inaccessible dimensions and alternate realities. It allowed the Time lords to observe and record other races and people. **_

_**Famous people like Dukhat of the Minbari Federation, G'kar of the Narn regime, Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic and other Time Lords like John Sheridan or Susan Ivanova. **_

_**The Vortex also saw a whole variety of different methods of time travel used over the long centuries by the Time lords; time mirrors, which enabled you to step into parallel realities and time lines. Time rings, to take you through reality by wearing it on the finger. **_

_**Time drives for starships, which many Time lords travelling through space used in conjunction with a hyper drive. But the most greatest time vessel created by this powerful and enigmatic race has to be the Omnitope, or Omni. **_

_**A Transdimensional vessel, which means it was larger on the inside than on the outside, Omni's come in many forms and variants. Indeed, the Time lord race seems to find the perfection of the Omni to be of great importance. I have actually stepped in one, seen the interior and how the Time lords use it.**_

_**The control room is a circular chamber, with doors leading off it ( I cannot tell if this is a customised Omni, or if this is the traditional form for one ), the control console stands alone in the middle of the room, with a glow coming from the bottom and inside the abstract glass sculpture in the centre of the console.**_

_**A steady thump thump noise comes from the console, like a gigantic heart beating in the belly of a beast. Indeed, the Time lords refer to this as the Heart of the Omni. As yet, nothing is known about the technology which makes this " Heart " possible.**_

_**The console is circular as well, sleek, with touch sensitive screens and holographic displays.**_

_**Even now, the Time Lords refuse to give the explanation for why the Omni's need a pocket dimension. It has been theorised the time vortex holds an unusual element which is fatal to organic material. The time drives the Time lords use in their spacecraft manipulate the vortex in a different way from the Omni. **_

_( Extract from A History of Time, by G'tone, in circa AD 6090.)_


	3. Chapter 3 With Great power

_**The Lords of Time**_

_**With Great power, comes great responsibility.**_

_Minyos. _

_Home to the Minyan race._

_A planet similar to Earth, with an equally similar race. Aggressive, intelligent and possessed great potential._

_After their breakthrough with the Omnitope technology, the Time Lord race spread out across space and time, charting the universe and encountering new species._

_Peoples the First ones had never encountered._

_The Minyans were the one of the first. They were a primitive race, using stone and rough hewn wooden tools, and lived off the land._

_Remembering Lorien's own interference in their own culture, the Time Lords decided to play god. They appeared to the Minyans, who in awe of their other worldly visitors, treated them like gods. In their pride, the Time lords came to believe them._

_The Time lords started taking their time, teaching the Minyans the basics of the internal combustion engine, then nuclear physics. In the 2,000 years since the Time Lords first visited their world, the Minyans entered their computer age in less than 4 centuries. They had advanced communication tech and genetics sciences._

_The Time lords showed the Minyans how to travel in space, giving them access to hyperspace travel and a myriad of other techs along the way. _

_But, in their arrogance, the Time Lords had forgotten one thing. _

_They were outsiders._

" _Free Minyos," slogans appeared all around the planet. At first, the Time lords believed the group was small, but it wasn't._

_Then the first deaths started happening, because they were seen as gods, the Time lords felt safe walking through the streets of the cities of Minyos._

_The first deaths alerted the Time lords to the seriousness of the situation, the race they'd spent time helping was rebelling. Before the Time lords could put down the resistance, the Minyans stormed their many bases around the planet and the death toll was very high._

_A handful of Time lords returned to the safety of Earth. They could've ordered the complete destruction of the solar system, annihilating the Minyans instantly. But they were a civilised and a moral race. Besides, it was believed that the Minyans would destroy themselves anyway._

" _It is inevitable." The lord president said sadly._

_The president was right._

_Without the Time lords to administrate, the Minyans, once brothers in arms against the Time lords, started fighting amongst themselves. _

_Wars broke out between the many factions arguing over this and that. Conventional weapons were used, then nuclear weapons were used and later space weapons were used. _

_A radical group, using a piece of left over Time Lord technology, destroyed the solar system and reduced it to rubble._

_When the Time lords found out, they were devastated._

_It started when a junior Time lord conducted a routine check on Minyos, only to find the planet, the sun and the planets in the solar system were reduced to asteroids._

_The president decided that from that day forth a policy of non intervention was required. No longer would they interfere with the development of other worlds._

_The only exceptions would be if there was a threat beyond the capacities of other races to deal with. Temporal incursions would be treated with the harshest penalties._

_From now on, they would explore and make contact, but never interfere._

_The Time lords had learned their lesson._


	4. Chapter 4 The Coming of Valen

**A/ N: I don't own Babylon 5. I'm just an author who would like to make money from my fics, but it wou't happen. Pity.**

**The Lords of Time.**

**The coming of Valen.**

_Earth. Year 1903._

Jeffrey Sinclair was a 10 year old Human and was taking part in the most important ceremony a Human could undertake.

The initiation from a Human into a Time Lord.

It would take years to become full Time lords, but this ceremony was vital for that. It was designed to test the mind and will of a human against the raw power of time and space itself. Not all minds were fit to become Time lords and this was a fair way of finding and separating those from the ones who couldn't and those that could and would.

Jeffrey was in line, alphabetically, with many others, with rows of other nearby with the first letters coming first, including some friends from other colonies like Mars or Prozima 3. The academy was on Earth, the Time Lord homeworld. It was there that education for the Time lords took place. Traditionally, the other planets educated the Human leftovers, those who didn't make it past the ritual Jeffrey and the others were about to take part in.

It was hoped that many of the novices would become full Time lords with a bare minimum of those that could not.

He took the time to look at some of them, some were nervous, looking apprehensive and glancing at their neighbours faces. But, in all, a good deal of them were calm. Human children were taught how to calm their minds at very early stages.

" Jeff," A small voice said to his right and saw his friend, Amanda Ranger nearby. " You nervous ?"

" No." A lie.

" Me to." She said silently. Both were lying through their teeth.

" How long are they gonna be ? We've been standing here for hours!"

" It'll take time."

On and on it went. The protests rose, but then a Time lord, wearing full regalia came inside the chamber. At the sight of him, the children shut up.

He looked at them coolly for a moment, then a full warm smile appeared on his tanned features. " Welcome," he said, his arms spread outward. " Today is the day that some of you will leave behind the linear plain and become Time Lords. Today, you shall see things inside the Untempered Schism which will define your later destinies."

He looked around him, the smile still in place. " I grant you, not all of you shall become the next generation of Time lords and ladies, but the majority of you will be. Those who are shall take the next step, the one who do not shall still make great contributions for our people in later life. This ceremony will never be held against you, there are many of the founding families of the Time lord race who didn't make it past this stage. They live normal and happy lives. If you do not believe me, you shall have a chance to leave and meet them."

Jeffrey somehow didn't believe that.

The Time lord carried on. " As and Bs will come with me please."

It took a long time for the Rs and Ss to be called. As soon as they moved into the chamber with the Schism inside it, the younglings took one look around and gasped with astonishment.

The chamber was the size of a cathedral, with hewn brown rock walls surrounding the walls in a circular fashion. Around the walls were statues and statuettes of the Founders, the first Time lords, be they scientists, scholars and travellers. Candles dotted around the chamber, oil and incense burners burning quietly.

The statues themselves reached from the ground to the ceiling, they were the Founders. The Statuettes were of Time lords or ladies who'd contributed to the glories and scientific achievements of the Time lords. Some even had " V" shaped badges on their tunics or robes.

_Voyagers_, Sinclair thought. _I didn't realise they revered Voyagers to this extent._

Voyagers were Time lords who were a combination of Time agent and historian who were an elite. They journeyed to points in time and ensured history stayed on its natural course. They were far more highly trained than time agents.

Even now, their names were spoken with some reverence.

Sinclair was drawn out of his thoughts by the first name, a boy, shorter than Sinclair stepped forward and stood on a platform in front of the Schism.

The initiates were to the side of the schism so they couldn't look into it without being prepared.

As time went on, over 10 of the novices didn't become Time lords. The idea was to stay still for a full minute and stare into the Vortex and not move.

Those who did were lead out of the room to heaven knew where.

Finally, Amanda was called. " Good luck Amanda." Jeffrey said quietly as she passed. It was the only way he could speak without his voice cracking from the nerves he was feeling.

Amanda stood still for a minute, before the Time lord nearby guided her away. She'd passed the initiation. Amanda had told him no one in her family had become Time lords and he'd felt sorry for her, as well as fear she'd have come to Earth for nothing.

Now, those fears were unfounded.

She was the first Time lady in her whole family.

Seeing her happy face brought his fears to the surface; what if he, Jeffrey Sinclair, would shame his family with the news he stepped off the platform before the minute was up?

What would he do ?

" Jeffrey Sinclair." A voice brought him out of his terrified musings.

He walked close to the platform and stared at the schism. It was a bronze coloured ring, with runes of Ancient Time Lord and scientific symbols carved into the ring.

The centre of the schism…..

Jeffrey gasped as he looked into the raw power of the Time Vortex his race created…he could feel…..everything.

Everything…..

He could see planets, horizons, stars forming, living and dying, peoples and civilisations evolving, discovering fire and the wheel. Learning how to travel in space, fighting wars, falling into decay and eventually dying.

It was…..beautiful.

****

The Time lord wearing dark purple robes stood watching the child currently standing on the platform in front of the schism.

Not for the first time, he wondered what these younglings saw in the vortex. It was simple curiosity but he knew he could never ask.

As soon as the minute was up, he walked over to the child and put his hand on the small boys shoulder. The boy did not move or respond.

The Time lord was used to this from some of the novices, so very gently, he pulled the boy away so he was facing away from the vortex.

The boys face looked up and the Time lord was startled by the tears on his face.

" What is it ?" he asked in concern. The Vortex possessed all sorts of energies which were contained by the schism. Could something in the boys mind have summoned something through the vortex ?

Jeffrey Sinclair stared at the elder Time Lord and whispered one word. A word so unexpected the Time Lord had to listen again.

" Valen…."

****

As this was happening, Elizabeth Reynolds, patrol leader for the Time lord defence force was in her arrowhead star fighter.

Time lord security was incredibly vital for the security of the Human race. Even though other races barely even knew the Time lords existed, that did not mean complacency was a good idea. The patrols were highly routine, and they scanned the whole area. Using highly advanced sensors which scanned the dimensions the arrowheads provided Earth with a vast amount of information. Sometimes a ship wondered into the territory of the Time lords and depending on the mission, which was known by temporal projections, the arrowheads would either leave them alone or wipe them out.

Elizabeth looked at the stars cape, admiring the beauty of the stars and planets. She was over 560 years old and in her 3rd incarnation. She'd dedicated her last few lives to the protection of the Time lord race and wasn't about to stop.

" Attention, patrol 2, temporal control has detected a materialisation field in Earth space. Its close to you."

" Probably an Omni." She said nonchalantly, wondering why they bringing something so trivial to her attention. Surely someone would give her something better for her to do than impound an Omni.

" If it was then why does it have a Bocca reading of over 10.7 ?" The voice said irritably.

10.7!

The Bocca scale was the scale designed to measure time distortion. Omni's were below 4.6 on the scale. Whatever this was it was big.

" Where is it ?" She asked the voice on the other end, muttering under her breath, _You stupid fool_.

" Glad you asked," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, glad she wasn't in plain sight of her irritating speaker on the homeworld. Such a thing was considered undignified for Time lords.

" Vector 4. By 5."

" Course laid. Thank you. By the way," She decided to ruffle him, " next time this problem comes up, give the bloody reading."

The voice was silent.

" Ok," Reynolds spoke into her comlink with the others in the squadron, " we've been given a job to do. Ready?"

After getting the affirmatives, the squadron set course for the disturbance. It took them over 10 minutes to get there, ftl travel was prohibited in the home system unless it was an emergency, but they weren't far from the disturbance.

Elizabeth was studying her scanners, correlating with the others. " According to these readings, the time field is self stabilising. The field is in decay already."

Holly Turner, one of her best friends and a temporal physics graduate, spoke up. " That confirms its probably Time Lord. The self stabilising edition also means whatever brought this thing through time means the journey was plotted through vortex. I'm picking up a high concentration of vortex energy, which means exposure, but then again it lacks the merging factor for an Omni. My bet is that this folded the vortex on itself whilst passing through it. The time displacement is giving a date reading, 1000 years."

Nick Parker added his contribution, " I'm getting a silhouette now. Its big whatever it is. Six miles in length, with a rotational and gravimetric dual system for artificial gravity. There seems to some damage to the outer hull, this thing was attacked several times over. The decay of the weapon signature is severe, but not enough for a good guess…..Liz, it looks like a First One race attacked this station. "

Reynolds stared at the reading Parker sent over. Gods, he was right ! But this was huge, she felt almost nauseated by the ramifications. First ones, the Time lords had never met them and now…..

Ursula Mendez spoke up over the comm system, " Liz, I'm picking up a message from the station. One word. I - I can't believe it. It says " Valen."

" Valen? As in the Minbari Valen ?"

" The same."

Reynolds looked out of her star screen viewer. Now, she could see something over a distance. " I can see it in the distance. Am magnifying now, and Holly, contact traffic control on Earth. Tell them we need permission for a limited fold now."

" Understood."

The visor on Reynold's helmet, responding to her thought command, zoomed in closer on the station. It was made up of 3 main cylinders, the middle one was the thickest. The first one was the longest and ended in a docking port. Further back, on the 3 cylinder there, jutting from the structure like the feathers on a bird, were immensely long panels for soaking up the cosmic radiation. Using her link with the ships computer, Reynolds conducted a very detailed sensor sweep over the station.

It used a black hole reactor, with 4 added fusion reactors and generators for extra power. Judging from the jump point generator and the grav drive, it was meant to be a mobile station. A hefty bit of work she thought. But there was one question on her mind.

But what was its purpose ?

Reynolds was shaken from her reverie by the traffic control station on Earth giving permission for a fold. But they were told to wait. When she received the order, she asked why.

The response astounded her.

The president was coming as well.

****

Lady President Rose Asher was a 790 year old Time lady with a tremendous amount of experience in many fields, time and space exploration, dimensional travelling and had spent a good 2 of her previous lives as a Time Agent.

" Are you sure ? " She asked the tall Time lord in her office. She was a tall woman, with her long black hair in a bun with a jewel encrusted head band. She wore long red robes embroidered in gold. She was an attractive woman with a pale face and blue eyes.

" Positive. As soon as the boy said " Valen ", I came straight here."

Valen. Rose had not heard that name for a long time.

1000 years ago, the Shadows had destroyed the Minbari's greatest starbase and headquarters in the war. Without a base, they were doomed to lose.

In answer to their prayers, and almost to on cue for Rose's taste, a station appeared, commanded by a mysterious Minbari called Valen. This one was more advanced and after the war moved the Minbari out of Galactic Age, where gravimetric science was just being understood, into Gravitic age.

Valen was not popular; ever since the building of the time vortex in hyperspace, the Time lords had charted and made bios for virtually every living being in existence.

Somehow Valen was able to avoid this. It was almost like the wretched Minbari was a ghost. Many Time lords, including Roses' own great aunt had travelled back in time, trying to find out more about him.

And yet…..Valen seemed to know who his visitors were.

Which was impossible, the Time lords had barely made contact with other races in the universe, including the Minbari.

So, how did Valen know who the Time lords were ? Had he found a way to find out about the time travelling race and hide from their projection and monitoring equipment.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by the comm on her desk.

" Madam president. A space station has appeared on the edge of our space. According to the time displacement vector, the station comes from a period of 1000 years. It has a self stabilising time field, and its sending one word, " Valen."

Rose went rigid. Then came to a decision. A mystery which had haunted the Time lords and their temporal monitoring executive would finally be solved. Even if it cost her a life.

" Order my personal long range shuttle with a detachment of engineers to accompany me to the station," she spoke into the comm, ignoring her stunned councillor's face. This was no time for aggravation and rank.

She looked up. " I am coming along."

****

" I don't get it, why is the president of the Time lords coming to investigate a derelict space station ?"

Reynolds sighed. " I don't know. Why are you asking anyway ? Ask her when she arrives."

The pilots had been bickering for over 12 minutes - Time lords can tell time by the turn of the universe, another aspect of Lorien's genetic tampering. The President of the Time lords traditionally did not leave the safety of the home planet so Rose's decision was a cause for concern because it meant that whatever her reasons they were important, probably to the security and dominance of the Time lords.

They only had to wait for another 15 minutes before the long range shuttle came close. A communique from the shuttle told them to transport themselves on board.

" Acknowledged." Reynolds spoke into the comm unit. " By the way," she began as casually as possible, " may I ask the reason…" she didn't get to finish her sentence when the voice changed into a voice Reynolds had heard thousands of times before.

The president.

" Lieutenant Reynolds," she began curtly, " my reasons for accompanying you on this expedition are my own. Maybe, over the next few hours, or weeks, I do not know how long this survey will take, I will tell you. But only when I see fit to. Not before. Understood."

Reynolds stiffened with annoyance. She was a career officer and did not like rebukes because she was excellent at her job and she enjoyed working for the Earth defence forces.

She didn't like puzzles or mysteries, believing they should be relegated to the idiots who spent years in the archives of Orb, the ancient artificial sentience which contained ( some might say controlled ) the knowledge of the Time lords, or in the Time projection facilities which studied the nuances of the vortex.

She said crisply and just as curtly as the president. " Understood."

The station was a mess. Half the bulkheads were removed and the components looked stripped bare. The only components left were small and unimportant, a few circuit breakers here, a lighting circuit there.

The sight which greeted the Time lords as they transported aboard the station was a dark corridor with wall panels few and far between, the components were missing with a few opti cables scattered around. There was no lighting, bare minimum gravity in the floor plating.

The Time lords were dressed in space suits, complete with atmosphere recyclers and lighting. Rose stood to the side and surveyed the mess, taking out her scanner. She studied one of the few remaining circuits. " Crystal tech, quite advanced. Not quite though. Primitive to our standards, but to a race like the Minbari…."

She broke off as an idea sprang to her mind.

Reynolds and Holly came up to her, respectfully keeping their distance to the Time lady. " Madam President, is something wrong ?"

That snapped Rose out of her thoughts. " Hmm? No, everythings fine."

Rose cleared her throat, trying to get the suspicions coming from her mind back into the refuse of her subconscious.

" Reynolds, your with me. The rest of you, spread out. Gather as many scans as you can get. I want a small group of engineers to survey the power plant, or what's left with it. Take some guards with you for protection. We have no idea if something is on this station and I don't want to take any chances."

As the group split up and went in different directions, Reynolds and the President moved off down a corridor. It was quite eerie. It was like walking through a ghost ship, if ghosts genuinely existed. The suits and gravity globes light sources were a great help for the pair of them.

" I'd like to know who removed these components." Reynolds remarked, poking her hand in an empty compartment.

" I have an idea."

" Oh, what's that." Reynolds asked curiously, then bit her tongue.

Rose looked at her companion and realised she needed to be honest and needed an opinion on her theories.

" When I was younger, my great aunt was a Time agent. She was one of the best, highly trained with centuries of experience under her belt, she taught me a lot when I was growing up. Things the academy never teaches its students."

As they walked down the dark cable lined corridor, Rose continued. " One of her missions was routine. Fairly. It was to investigate Valen."

" Valen, the Minbari hero?" Reynolds stopped, looking at her president.

" Yes. As you know, we Time lords survey, chart and catalogue the cosmos using a wide variety of techniques. We document the futures of people, including alternate realities. But Valen…..he's a mystery even to us."

" How can he be ? We have the vortex."

" It's not that simple, we know his life when he brought this station back in time, but we don't know his past. We have no idea who his parents are. We have no idea what his early life was like and we don't know what he did or why he did it. That's why so many of us were sent back in time to find out more about him, to trace his origins."

Rose stopped and turned to face her new found friend, who she hoped she would be a friend. " We've tried everything, Liz. I can call you that, right ?" she added, and was grateful for the nod. She continued. " Gene tests, temporal biogs. The lot. Nothing worked."

Liz was silent, going over her mind the ramifications of what her president was saying. The Time lords prided themselves of having access to the greatest sources of knowledge in the multiverse, with outcomes and nuances to go with them.

Biographies of people, important or otherwise was simple for them, you just looked into their past and then their future. Their timelines showed every possible alternate reality for them.

For Valen to be an unknown to them was unthinkable.

" What do you think it means ?"

Rose considered telling her what she'd learnt earlier that day, then decided to tell. She could rely on this soldiers silence. Her oath permitted no less.

" You are aware it's the time for the Initiation back home on Earth ?"

" Yes."

Rose paused and gathered her thoughts. " One of the novices looked into the vortex and when he was pulled away, he said a word. Just one word. " Valen."

Reynolds looked at her in puzzlement for a moment then said. " You are here because a _boy _Valen after he was initiated? Why ?"

" Think about it. Valen, a mystery even our people cannot solve. A boy looks into the untempered schism, a station appears, using our science to arrive. Tell me, how is it this station has a reading from 1000 years previously ? A time Valen existed. Look around you, this station is gutted. I think the Minbari did this years ago. They were already in their galactic age, with basic gravimetric knowledge and then this station arrives with the ability to push them well into the Gravitic age of technology."

" You….believe this boy to be Valen ?"

" I'm starting to."

Reynolds clucked her tongue. " Where's the proof ?"

" I think the proof is down this corridor."

Before her confused companion could question her and her sanity the president of the Time lords led her down the corridor she'd pointed out.

The corridor wasn't as in bad condition as the others. In fact, the Minbari seemed to have left it alone, either because there were no vital components or there was another factor to the equation.

It came in the form of a single doorway. Rose studied the lock mechanism. " What more proof do you need Reynolds ? This lock has a time lock with an isomorphic reader. I don't know anyone who uses isomorphic science except for the Time lords."

Reynolds scanned the lock as well and saw the president was right. Isomorphic technology was purely Time lord in concept and design.

" The time lock seems to be coming to the end of it's cycle. Give it another 10 minutes perhaps, but the isomorph lock is the issue."

" Not really," Rose chided her gently, " I've just ran it through Orb's main isomorphic database. I know one of the people the lock is keyed to and fortunately, its close to us."

Reynolds looked at Rose, the other woman had a wide grin on her beautiful face. " Who is it ?"

" You."

" Me? I've never even been here."

" Not yet. Time travel."

Reynolds felt like a fool. Of course, this station had not been built yet and it was clear that Reynolds would have a hand in building it whether she liked it or not.

As the minutes passed both the women wondered more about the ramifications of this discovery. Rose was surprised but deep down wasn't really surprised.

Valen had been a thorn in the side of the Time lords for many years and many of their race had tried to discover something about him only to leave with more questions than answers.

The fact Jeffrey Sinclair had said Valen after his initiation was telling to Rose. But that didn't explain it properly. Only when the door of this room - Rose was certain it was Valen's room - would there be a plausible explanation for everything that was happening.

Hopefully the mysteries of the elusive and mysterious Minbari would finally be answered.

Reynolds was also deep in thought about Valen. Like many of her race she knew Valen only by history and by reputation. One of the Minbari's holiest figures, defeated the Shadows, formed the Grey Council itself and creating the Anla' shok, the Rangers to defend the Light against the Dark.

The idea that one of her people would one day _become_ Valen was something she'd never imagined. Liz had only studied him at the Academy, she'd never known that he was more mysterious even to Time lord history analysts.

The idea she would have a hand in building this station was also confusing. It was disconcerting for anyone, including Time lords, for knowing their own futures. In fact the Time lords prohibited the knowledge, even from their own people.

It would do for mistakes to be made.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Iso lock beeped.

" Right Liz, put your hand on the sensor."

Taking off her glove and putting all her will into keeping her blood pressure working right in the vacuum, she put her hand on the sensor.

The door slid open with a hiss and they walked in with no idea what to expect. Unlike the other areas on the station this room was lit up. There had to be an emergency power source in the room, Reynolds hypothesised.

Apart from a desk and a table in the centre of the room, the room was bare. There was no other hint that a Minbari had lived in here, there was no inclined bed, if you could call a thing like that a bed. There was no decoration of any kind.

The table itself was the most interesting feature of the whole room. On it stood a device in the shape of a pyramid. An opaque pyramid in various shades of blues and purple. On the side were controls. Rose examined it and told Liz to study the rest of the room.

" There's another chamber here. Built into the wall, with only a basic perception filter. The scanner's bypassed the filter and shut it down. The lock is electronic with a combination. Running it through now."

She only needed to wait for a minute. Time lord combination locks were relatively simple to crack, they had 300 numbers in a randomised pattern. For other races, the lock would take forever to crack because of the randomisation. But it wasn't a problem for the scanner in Liz's hand. It took only a minute for the scanner to come up with the right combination.

As soon as she opened it, she found something she hadn't expected.

" Rose. You better see this."

Rose left the pyramid and came over to see what it was that had attracted her friends attention. There was a space, similar to a safe, and there in the middle of it was an Orb.

The Time lords had a wide variety of time travel devices and this was one of the most powerful methods. The orb literally folded the vortex on itself. It was like a more versatile form of Omni heart. Indeed the basics came from that technology.

There were only 3 orbs in existence since they could be very dangerous and the dangers of using them were high.

" Now we know how the station moved through time. Look at these. Data crystals." Rose said, holding them up to the light.

Liz took one and examined it. Holding up her scanner she said, " I think I can run them through the scanner."

Rose nodded in agreement. " Do it."

Liz inserted one of the crystals and ran it through the scanner's holo interface. The image was of a man, wearing the ranger robes of the Minbari. He was holding the Orb and setting it, probably using the imprimature in his very being to control it. After a good 2 minutes, he was finished and put it in the safe.

Next, he went over to the pyramid and started it up. It glowed with light and…it started sending a misty substance through the air and on to one of the closest walls. For a minute, he contemplated it. Then with what looked like the weight of the world he stepped into it and the chrysalis - there was no other word for it - formed over him like a pie maker rolling pastry over the fruit in the dish.

After playing another crystal, they saw the man had changed, he was bald, with a head crest and bone of a Minbari. His face, his likeness came from another person.

One who'd been a problem for the Time lords for many years.

Valen.

Rose looked at Liz, her face showing her suspicions had been confirmed.

"You were right Rose, Valen was on this station. He was, is, a Time Lord."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Again, I do not own Babylon 5 or its characters. Please please please review my story. I like knowing how I'm doing and what you readers think.**

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Minbari's discovery. **

_Earth Year 2260. Minbari Federation._

Dukhat, the leader of the Minbari strolled with a quick step to the council chamber. He had just found something in the archives.

A scroll written by Valen himself. That wasn't unusual, since the legendary Minbari had written several scrolls of prophecy over his life.

But somehow, this one was different. He just knew it. For example, the scroll had been instructed to be opened at a specific time, date, hour and minute.

As the nine stood in the chamber, he walked in without a word. Standing in the centre of the room, he held out the scroll.

" For 900 years, this scroll has been sitting in the archives of the Grey Council, untouched, virtually forgotten by all. "

He continued after reading the reactions of the robes and cowled members of the council.

" It tells of something interesting. Another war with the Shadows is coming and soon. Some time ago, we, the Grey council travelled to Z'ha'dum, the homeworld of the ancient enemy."

Delenn shuddered at the memory.

_Flashback_

_They'd just jumped out of hyperspace, near the planet known as Z'ha 'dum. Delenn, the youngest of the council looked at the planet. It was a rock floating in space, brown, blackened by orbital bombardment. Lifeless._

_Just by looking at the planet she could tell the planet was dead. Evil._

" _Start scanning for any activity." A voice said cutting through her thoughts, it was Dukhat. Delenn turned to face her mentor. His face was expressionless, something unusual in his eyes. A weary fear, perhaps ? Delenn couldn't blame him. This place was the home to evil incarnate. _

_Dukhat had ordered a telepath to attend this….venture. She was shorter than Delenn by an inch, but she was experienced and confident. She was staring at the planet, her face screwed up in concentration._

_Then she jerked. " There is something here, Master." She said to Dukhat. Then she spoke again, her once even tone becoming frightened. " I can feel something in my mind." She started clawing at her head, as if she could tear the vision from her mind with her fingernails._

_Then Delenn saw something appear close to Z'Ha dum; something resembling six or eight points of golden light, something resembling eyes on some form of insect. Delenn heard a voice, a voice of infinite sadness. It spoke in the voice of her mother._

" _I am disappointed in you, child." The voice said, sadly. " I wanted you to live a life of quiet contemplation, not a life of politics with the Council which is starting to fall apart from Valen's vision."_

_Delenn started trembling. She didn't notice the others, who were in a similar daze to her own. Then, she saw the expanse of hyperspace. They later found out one of the council had been concerned about there being a possibility of a battle on arrival to the planet, so he'd ordered a program to take them back into hyperspace if a control wasn't touched every 2 standard minutes._

_Instead of being angry, Dukhat was on the verge of rewarding them._

_One thing was clear._

_The Shadows had returned._

_No one was safe._

_End Flashback._

Delenn was shaken from her musings by Dukhat's voice.

" I have found something interesting. Valen made many prophecies, but the scroll in my hands was written with the express wish that no sooner or later this scroll should be opened and revealed."

Dukhat, like a showman, untied the binding and unrolled the scroll. Something fell out making Dukhat bend and pick it up. It was a crystal. It was unlike any crystal he'd ever held. It was smooth and shaped differently, most data crystals were sharper shaped, this one was like a tear drop.

As soon as the crystal was held up to the light, the crystal glowed blue.

An image appeared in the centre of the chamber. It solidified into the shape of a Minbari male wearing the robes of a ranger.

The face, lined and wrinkled, held a wisdom and charisma few beings could hold. The eyes were a sapphire fire, almost as if someone held a sapphire in front of a supernova.

Delenn and the rest of the council recognised him instantly. He was known of a Minbari not born of Minbari, the Founder of the Grey Council, the One who'd united the Minbari race against the darkness. The Founder of the Rangers.

Valen.

The hologram looked around the room, almost as if he was really here instead of a spectre of light and energy. He inclined his head in greetings.

" If you are seeing this recording, then the time of Darkness has returned to haunt us all. It is a time for the members of the grey council to cease their petty bickering and curb their arrogance. There is no time for presumption."

All the council members wondered about the comment Valen had made, particularly the arrogance being curbed. Dukhat looked down and closed his eyes, knowing what the legend in front of him was referring to. The Minbari were complacent, they hadn't fought a war in 1000 years because they believed they were stronger than other races.

The bickering was something which had always existed. The warrior and religious castes had been having disputes on and off for many centuries and Dukhat knew that no matter what he said or did the disputes would remain.

The other problem the Minbari had on a whole was the lack of foresight when it came to other powers in the galaxy, even the Vorlons were never spoken to. They had few trade negotiations with other cultures, preferring to remain isolated.

Dukhat knew Valen was telling the truth; the Minbari needed to change if they were going to survive. But before the Minbari leader could put his mind to the task of how to solve this problem the hologram continued.

" I am aware that many of the Minbari people have often referred to me as a " Minbari not born of Minbari."

The council held their collective breaths wondering where the hologram was going to go with this one. Some felt he would tell them he was born differently, that he'd been born in hardship and learnt how to survive differently without the constant need to meditate or pray.

They weren't expecting the response.

Valen smiled. " They are correct. I wasn't born Minbari."

The council members let out furious exclamations but Valen, almost as if he was there, said " Silence." His voice, quiet, was filled with a burning fire none of them could explain.

Valen continued. " There is a planet, remote and not far called " Earth." it's populated by a race known as the Time lords. If I were you, as I am already sure that the warrior third of the council is already planning, I wouldn't attack them. Opening negotiations with them to fight the shadows would be in your better interests."

The holographic shroud of the council room suddenly activated. It showed a blue planet, green with vegetation, bright with water, floating in space. Then a ship appeared. It was huge, larger than the Sharlin class war cruiser used by the Minbari. It was shaped, Delenn thought, like a vast bird. It had large wings, and a graceful and long sleek body. It had a greenish skin.

Valen's voice came from close nearby, making her jump. Valen was looking at her with a gentle smile, then he turned his attention to the holograph, and it changed. It showed a solar system with a sphere in the centre. Suddenly it swung round on its axis and glowed blue. It sent out a wave of blue-white energy. The wave destroyed everything in its path, planets, moons, asteroids and the sun went dark, its energy sapped the sun and it collapsed, dead, into nothingness.

" That is only a sample of the destructive powers the Time lords have at their disposal. Their weapons are far far worse. Even the strength of the Vorlons is no match against the Time lords."

Valen, or rather his essence, looked with something akin to contempt towards the warrior caste. " I trust you are paying attention. This," he gestured to the mushroom shaped hologram showing the destruction of the solar system and the asteroids which were left, " is what'll happen to the Minbari race for attacking the Time lords. The blood of innocents'll be on your hands. When the Time lords fight, they destroy everything. Every atom, every molecule. Everything. "

Dukhat came close to him, head bowed. " Why was the crystal placed in the scroll ? Was there a reason for this revelation ?"

The council listened with obvious eagerness, which Valen, even in his disembodied form, could detect with relative ease.

" Someone with sense," Valen said, with another contemptuous glance to the warrior caste, " The crystal contains the essence of a Time lord. When my race die, we store the knowledge and experience in a repository. When I changed my cells from Time lord human to Minbari, most of the Time lord half was removed, including my ability to regenerate."

Valen ignored the looks of puzzlement and continued, not concerned with the thoughts of the council.

" When I was…hounded from Minbar, I completed the procedure, not seeing any other reason to continue living. I downloaded my mind and consciousness to the crystal, made sure my descendents returned it to Minbar with instructions for it to be opened at a specific time."

Valen walked around the chamber, head bowed and hands folded. " There was another reason."

He turned to face Dukhat. " The Time lords want to expel the remaining First Ones, make room for more worthy species."

Delenn couldn't stop herself. " Why do they wish to expel the First ones ?"

Everyone knew the First Ones were powerful, ancient, the masters of ancient knowledge and sciences. They were reclusive and shy, but that didn't explain the reasoning behind these Time lords desire to see the back of them.

" The galaxy needs to expand, the other races need to grow, to change. Races like the Vorlons and Shadows use others to fight their wars. The Time lords are tired of it. They've watched, now it is time for them to act. They could come out and call a truce. They could attack the 2 sides, destroy their fleets. But that would not be enough. The Time lords wish for the 2 races to leave, leave now and never come back."

Valen decided to give a more greater truth towards the reasons for the never ending war. " The Vorlons and Shadows were chosen to stay behind when the majority the First Ones left, to explore the vast voids between the galaxies. Over time the truce between the two races, shaky under normal circumstances, deteriorated and the 2 sides started warring again. On and on. Then, they had an epiphany; use the younger races to fight for them. The Vorlons stand for order above everything else. No passion. No dreams. Just obedience. How boring can you get ?"

Valen paced up and down, then stopped. " The Shadows, on the other hand, believe strength comes from conflict. They wish to release the potential of others, not bottle it up like the Vorlons. The idea is simple. Bring 2 sides together. They fight. A lot of them die, but the survivors are smarter, stronger and better. It's like knocking over an ant hill. Every new generation gets stronger. The ant hill is re designed. Made better."

He continued, not caring what effects his revelations were bringing to the Minbari. " The Time lords understand the philosophy. We don't like it. We don't see the necessity of destroying races, only to allow others to evolve. My people do not need to fight wars among ourselves. Unlike some." Again, the contempt he felt for the Minbari.

Delenn wondered why Valen, one of the most holiest figures in Minbari history felt contempt. She decided to find out.

" Excuse me. I apologise for interrupting."

Valen turned to face her, his face curious. " Please. You have a question."

" You have spoken to us, almost as if you despise us." She let out her feelings with a fast tone of voice, trying to get her feelings off her chest and get straight down to business.

" I just wish to find out why…"

" Why I speak with contempt ?" Valen asked with a small smile.

Valen moved into the circle, and started speaking. " I speak with contempt towards the Minbari, particularly the warrior caste third of this council, because I _can read their thoughts_. I can't help it, their minds are so noisy they can be heard from here to the next solar system. They think they can attack the Time lords, believing my people inferior." He turned to one of the members, clearly a warrior. " I dare you to fight a Time lord vessel. Then, tell me after if the attack proved your _inferiority, _to my people, you are inferior in many ways."

He turned to Dukhat. " We are wasting time, therefore, whilst we've been talking, I've influenced the course of this ship. You are heading for Earth and I've locked the computer with a random code, which will break when we arrive at the edge of the transduction barriers."

Morrann of the warrior caste spoke up, unable to silence himself any longer.

" You dare do this ? Take over our ship….!"

" Take over ? Hah!" Valen laughed, unaffected by the arrogant warrior's anger. " Would you have set a course ? No, this is infinitely more important than your petty arrogance could grasp. We are heading for Earth and shall reach the planet in 3 days time. In the meantime, you all have to work on your manners." Suddenly, he was serious. " I remind you, do not provoke the Time lords. They are quick to anger and can destroy the galaxy easily. Remember this, they do not like arrogance, they cannot be reasoned with in war. They understand no pity, no morals, no surrenders when it comes to war."

He looked at all the council, his face impassive. " You would lose."

_Earth. Year Solar System._

" Commander. I'm detecting a ship outside the outer areas of the Solar system. It jumped out of hyperspace a moment ago, setting off the warning systems."

The young ensign had been bored out of her mind, dreaming of leaving this particular apprenticeship and entering the Time Security Collective. She hated this apprenticeship. It was dull, looking out of space and at the monitors all day straight. How anyone could do the same for 7 centuries was beyond her comprehension.

The commander, an elder Time lady in her 900s, came close to her, scanning the monitors with a professional eye, noting the data quickly.

" Well ?"

The ensign stared at her then the monitors. She nodded. " It's a Minbari cruiser. Sharlin class."

" Good." The Ensign sighed mentally, keeping her emotions under tight control. The commander was a hard taskmistress, always scrutinising her work and checking every little thing she did.

It was frustrating.

" Ma'am, the Minbari are approaching the transduction barrier. They are a kilometre in distance to the transduction bridge."

The bridge was the way in or out of the barrier.

" The Minbari….they're…they're opening the barrier!" The ensign cried with astonishment.

" WHAT?"

" How did they get in ? Answer me!" Rose, the president snapped out at the traffic control officers.

The President had been summoned to the Traffic Room, along with one half of the council, each one with the same 2 questions in their heads.

Rose was irritable, angry and astonished. Irritable because their transduction barrier, which had held out the other races was ineffective against the Minbari.

Angry because Time lord security had been compromised.

Astonishment because the Time lords in charge of their security were paralysed with shock and were leaving the Minbari alone instead of trying to approach them to leave.

" How did they even find it ? Well, are you going to answer me or not ?" She shouted with annoyance.

The ensign, gathering her courage, spoke up. " The M-Minbari…just approached the barrier bridge and…and they somehow opened it. We don't know how!"

Rose nodded. It made slight sense, but one thing baffled her; how did they find the damned thing in the first place ?

There was no point in asking these zombies, they wouldn't know. Angrily, she walked over to the communications panel, furious at the necessity.

" All military units, all military units. I don't know if you've noticed this, you clumsy morons, a Minbari cruiser has entered our space. Get out there, escort them towards them our space station and jam their weapons. Unless their moves are hostile you are ordered not to fire. I repeat, not to fire. By the way," she added almost as an afterthought. " if something like this happens again, I will make sure your duties are more simpler for you. How does waste extraction sound ? Never let this happen again."

She slammed her fist down on the panel. The president was disappointed. In her fleet, in her people's ability to think straight.

Rose turned to face the main monitor. It showed the Minbari vessel, it wasn't far from Mars. A small squadron of Arrowhead fighters were in the area heading for the intruder. At least her words had some incentive.

The Time lords maybe slow, but push and they'll move faster than ever. But it didn't take away her bitterness.

She only hoped the Minbari had good answers. They'd need them, if they wanted to live to see old age. If they didn't someone would pay deeply.

Delenn was looking out of the viewing port looking at the Time lord escorts around them. So far, the Time lords had shut down their weapons and moved them through the system, keeping silent. The warrior caste, typically, were saying the Time lords should be destroyed.

That was until it was pointed out the Time lords had deactivated their weapons.

Now, they'd been told the entire Grey Council was to travel to the surface, no guards. No weapons. Just the council.

Valen the hologram had told them they should take the crystal with them.

As soon as they disembarked, Delenn stood on the platform, looking at the scenery. She was on the edge of a massive city, in some sort of ground to space complex, a landing site. The towers were so tall they blotted out the sky. They seemed to be made of some kind of metal. Some areas were domed with huge glass domes.

All around there were small personal transports - air cars.

She was escorted along with the rest of the council by a number of Time lords in some kind of body armour. But some of them were not in armour. Delenn took the time to look at them, noting their differences. They weren't too dissimilar from Minbari. Except for the lack of head bone in place which they had hair. Their faces and anatomy were similar to the Cnetauri, except they lacked crests.

The Minbari were lead down corridors, then they came to an area where 4 Time lords were waiting for them. One had some sort of hand scanner whilst the others had rifles. A Time lord, wearing red robes trimmed in copper, came forward.

" I am called Aaron. I would say welcome, if you'd been invited. This Time lord," he gestured to the one with the hand scanner, " is going to make sure none of you were stupid enough to carry weapons. If you have one, it will be confiscated. If you resist, you will spend the rest of your life in a prison cell. Or you will be shot in the head." Aaron added as an afterthought.

Dukhat started to say something, but Aaron looked at him. There was something about the Time lords which spoke of an icy fire in their eyes.

The look Aaron gave Dukhat spoke volumes; the Time lords were in charge.

The Minbari were still as the Time lord stepped close. He moved cautiously, on alert at all times. In took him a minute to scan the nearest council member to him, which was Delenn. He looked at Aaron, who nodded.

Telepathy ? Delenn wondered.

As he stepped close to Dukhat, however, Morann sprang. He held in his hands a dagger, small and sharp, ready to rip open the Time lords throat.

Instantly, one of the Time lords stepped forward and levelled his weapon. He fired and the foolish warrior dropped his weapon and clutched his stomach, screaming in pain.

Aaron stepped forward, face impassive, and picked up the dagger with a tissue. He looked down at the fallen warrior with contempt written all over his face.

" There are 67 ships near your vessel. There are Time lord soldiers all over this complex, between us and the flyer you used to arrive here. What did you hope to achieve ? Attacking a Time lord whilst he was carrying out a specific duty, so then an idiot Minbari," he sneered at the word. " attacks him. Again, what did you hope to achieve ? Fortunately for you and your miserable and arrogant race, the president has no desire to destroy you. After the meeting with her, however, you shall stay on Earth for trial."

The council voiced their protests, then Aarons' voice cracked like a whip. " Silence. You violate our space, threaten and compromise our security, attack one of our citizens and when we demand justice, you protest. Unacceptable. He will be tried, imprisoned or executed. All under Time lord law."

Aaron turned to face the Time lord, who was under control with no fear in his eyes. " Continue."

It took an hour to scan the Minbari " delegation ", the Time lords had been cautious in their scanning duties. Morann's actions had the Time lords on edge. They were not going to let the party try and overpower them, the lesson they'd learnt was now engrained.

Delenn was looking around her, curious, looking and seeing. She saw paintings on the marble walls with the fluted blue columns. Here and there were computer panels, some with Time lords on duty nearby. Some of the Time lords, she noticed, were wearing robes, others were wearing coveralls. She couldn't help but wonder who they were and what they did.

She wanted to ask Aaron who they were and what they did, but Delenn was frightened of not getting a good answer.

Delenn watched as Dukhat berated the Minbari warrior, who was trying, unsuccessfully, to remove the bracelet around his wrist. The Time lords had put it on in order to keep him on the planet.

The Time lords seemed to have a sense of justice which would be very difficult for Morann to escape from, the fact the prisoner was Minbari meant nothing to the Time lords. The fact the fool had tried to kill one of their own was enough to imprison him, maybe even execute him.

Aaron led them, with their armoured escorts, to a room with some form of circular pad in the middle. There was a Time lord on duty at the console nearby.

" Prepare to transport us to the Council building." Aaron ordered the Time lord, who nodded and started setting the controls on the panels.

Dukhat gestured to the pad. " What is this…device ?" He asked politely.

Aaron ignored him and addressed the group. " All of you step on the pad. The technician will do the rest."

Aaron gestured to one of the soldiers, who stepped up on the pad.

" Energise." Aaron said to the technician.

The soldier was still, then the pad lit up with a blue energy and the soldier disappeared as two halves of a sphere encompassed him. The sphere glowed brightly for a moment then vanished into thin air.

The light went out and the soldier was truly gone.

On the other end of the teleport network in the council building, the technician on duty _there_ moved the control crystals into position.

Looking upwards, the materialisation sphere appeared, red this time. Blue for dematerialisation and red for re - materialisation. It glowed red brightly for a moment then settled, just as the Minbari were looking around bewildered.

Delenn looked around her. She was in another pad room, only this one had some subtle differences here and there. She was astonished by the tech which brought them here. Going over to a window, she looked out.

They were in a tall building, surrounded by tall buildings. She could see the Time lord equivalent of flyers move through the air.

Delenn pulled herself away from the window, just in time to overhear the warriors argue with Aaron.

" You dare subject us to this ?"

" We are the Minbari….."

" We demand respect…!"

Aaron let go of his Time lord composure. " Enough!" He bellowed, in a voice louder than the reticent warriors had. They fell silent at the silent power of the figure in front of them.

" We " subjected " as you say to this because WE are in charge of our lands. Not you. Secondly, I do not give a damn about who you are. To us YOU are inferior. YOUR colleague attacked one of US, an attack without a shred of provocation. Not something YOU'D expect from a so called " honourable " people, is it ?"

No one answered his question since it was rhetorical but Aaron didn't seem to care. He went on with his tirade.

" Respect. Why should we respect YOU. YOU have done _Nothing_ for us. You seem to think the galaxy owes you a debt. It doesn't. You owe us. The _**whole universe owe us a debt.**_ Do you know why? We defended this reality when your **precious** Vorlons tore a hole in reality and let a hostile race in from an **alternate reality**. A reality where the dominant race was slaughtering races in the belief they and they alone are superior to other races. We fought them, we destroyed their home world and destroyed one third of the universe to decimate them and drive them into extinction. We have saved reality from idiots who try to build time machines which are a threat. We preserve reality, we defend reality, we have stopped numerous aliens from destroying reality, so do not talk to me about respect!"

While the Minbari were shocked into silence, giving the more reasonable and calmer Minbari a chance to assimilate the information about what they'd heard. The implications of what the Vorlons had done was intriguing.

And frightening.

Another Time lord, looking physically older than the others, walked in, wearing more elaborate robes, but he had a fire in his eyes, of youth, that made both Delenn and Dukhat wonder how truly old he was.

" Come with me." He said. No greetings. Nothing.

The other Time lord escorted them and their escort through the corridors, until they arrived at wooden doors with two soldiers on guard. As the party came close to the doors the soldiers opened them, revealing a massive room with rows of Time lords, wearing different clothes with rankings on them.

In the centre of the semicircle, was a huge chair, almost like a throne, with an attractive woman sitting in it. From what Valen had described she was the president.

She eyed the Minbari Grey council coldly. " I would say welcome to Earth, IF you had been formally invited. You hadn't, you forced your way into our space, violated our security, then, to make matters worse one of your idiot council members attacked one of us during a scan I ordered. The charges don't present a very pretty picture for you does it ?"

The president leaned forward, focusing her eyes on Morann. Thanks to Aaron's telepathy, they knew which one attacked the scan technician. For Morann, life was going to get worse.

" You. You attacked one of us. Why ? To satisfy your bloodlust. Whatever the reason, we shall find it. We will interrogate you and make sure you understand the depths of your stupidity. After your ship leaves our space, you will stay for trial. No alien has ever arrived on homeworld. So your case will hopefully be unique."

The Minbari were silent, after seeing the power of the Time lords - being able to move masses over a distance, a planetary force field and now this.

But the silence did not last.

Copelann, also of the warrior caste but much older than his foolhardy colleague, decided it was time for him to act.

In all honesty, Copelann truly didn't care about Valen, his origins, or anything else about him. He was a more thoughtful warrior compared to Morann and he knew that in order to win wars you needed intelligence on the enemy you were fighting.

Blundering in and trying to jump someone where the whole world was inhabited by them was a stupid mistake.

The fool had been caught and now, Copelann was hoping that a more calm approach would be more beneficial.

" Madam President. If I may…."he trailed off as he inclined his head politely. It galled the proud Minbari to resort to such a tactic like bowing his head, but he felt it would help his foolish friends cause.

The president inclined her head.

Copelann started his explanation. " My colleague and fellow warrior is young and foolhardy," he said, ignoring the angry look Morann was sending him. He didn't even look in Morann's direction, but he hoped he wasn't stupid enough to make things worse than before.

" We Minbari are a proud race, prideful in our accomplishments."

He was interrupted by one of the councillors at the table, a young looking Time lady, who stood up. " What accomplishments ? Fighting amongst yourselves in petty disputes, needing to be pulled together by an outsider, who just happened to look like you. An outsider you," she pointed to Dukhat, " carry in your robe pocket. One of us." She paused for dramatic effect.

" A Time lord."

At once the other Time lords protested angrily and stared at Dukhat, their faces grim with fury. Dukhat started to worry about his own welfare when he was rescued.

The president stood up, her hand raised. " Silence. I have known Jeffrey Sinclair, known to the people of Minbar as Valen, transformed genetically into a Minbari male. This I have confirmed with the party who boarded the space station 300 years ago of which I was one of them."

She ignored the Minbari's reactions. They wondered, 300 years ? How old are these people. ?

She moved around the table and moved close to the Minbari. " 300 years ago, I announced to the members of the Inner council that one of our novices was Valen. His memories were Valen. His soul is Valen. But his mind is a Time lord. Valen is a fixed event and I have no plan to change that anytime soon."

The president continued. " Over the years I have watched Jeffrey Sinclair. At this very moment, he is in training on a remote planet for survival. You all remember similar practices from your time at the academy. He has been on such a course for the best part of a month, living off the land and putting those same skills to the test. In another month, he shall return."

" How can you be so sure ?" They all turned, guards as well, to Delenn, who had spoken up.

Delenn was concerned about Valen, about the survival course the Time lords were running for him. She was afraid for him, for the present Valen. She was frightened that he'll die either from hunger or an injury. Survival courses were not for the faint hearted.

" I mean, how do you he'll survive ?"

The president eyed her with something like…..approval. Rose turned towards the Minbari leader and held her hand out.

" Please give me the crystal."

Dukhat handed it to her, not seeing any particular reason why not. She turned it over in her hand, fingers running over it. It was a white blue crystal, which was tear dropped shape and fit easily in the palm of the hand.

Rose closed her eyes and placed 2 of her fingers on the crystal, linking her mind to it…..

_She found herself in a mental landscape, long and green, similar to Earth, with a beautiful river and lake nearby. There was a sense of timelessness here, something the Time lady had experience with. Non linear time was something the Time lords had managed to manipulate._

_Rose was admiring the view when she felt a presence above her when she heard a voice behind her._

" _Beautiful isn't it ?"_

_Turning, she saw a tall, fit and handsome Time lord, wearing Minbari ranger robes. _

" _Yes Jeffrey."_

_Jeffrey grinned. It was nice to be recognised, even if she was seeing someone from the past. Or was it the future? Even Time lords were sometimes rendered hopeless by paradoxes._

" _I heard about the incident with Morann, well, I witnessed it."_

" _So ?"_

_Jeffrey rubbed his eyes. He knew he had to word this carefully, the last thing he needed in this nonlinear environment was a fight._

" _I think," he started carefully. " that Morann should go to prison instead of being executed."_

_Rose protested instantly. " He attacked one of us, we can't let this happen again. I don't care about the Minbari. As far as I'm concerned the idiot deserves execution."_

" _Why ?"_

" _Because he sees himself as superior. When that Time Lord was attacked, I decided that the Minbari should see that no matter what, every action has a consequence. Morann will stand trial and…."_

" _And we lose a potential ally. Rose, we need the Minbari's influence to help the other races throw off the yoke of the Vorlons. Killing one of them will not help."_

_Rose was intrigued and Jeffrey could see it. " Go on."_

_Jeffrey smiled. " Tell them about the Vorlons. Tell them the truths of the war. I've already started but they need to see it for themselves. Show them the records of the Thirdspace incident, show them what the Vorlons have done over the aeons. Give Morann a fair trial, but do not execute him. We need all the allies we can get."_

" _Morann will get a fair trial, Jeffrey. You have my word on that. But the one problem I have is introducing the Time lords to the galaxy." She was struck by a sudden thought. " Unless…."_

" _Unless the Minbari introduce you themselves." Jeffrey smiled._

_Rose was thoughtful for a moment. The Time lords had surveyed the universe and its echoes, but they rarely made contact with others, preferring to make contact through proxies or agents. If Morann's trial was conducted rightly….._

" _All right." She said._

_She released her contact._

Rose removed her fingers from the crystal and sent a telepathic memory of the conversation to the other members of the council. They understood the logic, but one or two of them didn't like the idea of letting Morann get away with attempted murder.

Rose turned to face the Minbari leader. " I would like to speak with you and Delenn. In private."

Ignoring the curious looks, and the infuriated ones from the warrior caste members, the group - Minbari and Time lord filed out, leaving the 3 of them behind.

" I suggest we get down to business….." Rose said.

2 hours later….

" So, we are agreed. The trial will be held on Earth, in front of the 2 councils of Earth and Minbar. After that, Morann will spend 30 years in a cell on Earth. In that time, the Grey council will inform the peoples of the galaxy about the existence of the Time lords and the alliance between our races."

Rose was finishing up after 2 hours of long negotiations between the 2 powers. Delenn was chosen to become the full Ambassador to Earth, whilst Jeffrey Sinclair and Marcus Cole would go to Minbar as Ambassador and assistant.

Dukhat was not entirely happy with the trial of Morann, but he felt, deep down, the impetuous Minbari deserved it. Dukhat would be stupid if he didn't realise that the Time lords would punish Minbar severely if the fool warrior was not tried.

In truth, Dukhat was impressed by the Time lords for many reasons. It had been a long time since he had sat at a negotiation table but he was glad he was still skilled in the art of diplomacy.

Delenn, on the other hand, was nervous. She was chosen as an Ambassador but she possessed no experience of any kind.

Like Dukhat, she was starting to admire the Time lords, but she hoped they were not making a fatal mistake. But her heart was telling her this was not the case.

The Time lords would be revealed.

**The revelation of the existence of the Time lords was a great event. For many races, it meant new trades with another race and a boost to their economy. For others, it meant another race for conquest. **

**For some, it meant another race to not be trusted.**

**In the months following the Minbari's introduction of the Time lords, many races found the Time lords helping others. Whether they wanted it or not. For my people, the Narns, the Time lords gave us the ability to introduce controlled genetic engineering techniques to help us re grow plants and reintroduce rare animals killed and driven to the edges of extinction by the Centauri occupation. **

**The Time lords came and introduced order, a concept the Vorlons, even with their preconceived power, refused to do. They stopped piracy and cut crime in many sectors of space.**

**They were seen as the Guardians of Peace and Justice.**

_( Extract from A History of Time, by G'tone, in circa AD 6090.)_


	6. Chapter 6 The Watcher

**A/n Please review my story. I don't own anything, except for the idea this story is based on.**

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Watcher.**

_Z'ha dum. Year 2260._

Lorien had been in meditation for a long long time.

Over 50,000 years. 50,000 years out of a million years spent in exile on Z'ha dum, the ancient homeword of the Shadows.

It was a pity, he mused to himself. Who would've wondered such a planet would eventually become as dead as a grain of sand ?

Still, he mused to himself, it wasn't a surprise. The Shadows had bases and places of power in places even Lorien didn't know about. Why Z'ha dum was occupied again once every 1000 years was a mystery to him.

Some in the universe believed immortality was a gift. At the moment, for Lorien and for many of the First ones, it was a curse. Especially if there was nothing for him to do. At first Lorien had explored the caverns and caves of the planet.

Z'ha dum was dead, the core was dead even and had been replaced by a massive hyperspace tap, which was used as a power source in the ships of the ancient race. Lorien had been fascinated and had explored it.

For over 3000 years.

Now, he'd explored the planet's interior, he'd become so knowledgeable that now he knew every particle of dust and rock down here.

Meditation was the only way he could stave off boredom. Being an ethereal being, Lorien could see the stars and travel beyond, yet he chose to remain on the planet.

The wonderful thing about space was that change and growth was always present - time didn't stand still, like it did for races like the Vorlons whom hadn't truly developed anything new in the last few million years.

As his conscious mind wondered the stars, Lorien watched as new races traversed the stars, fought wars and learned how to stand for themselves.

Lorien cursed the Vorlons for their inability to help races like the Narns, whom had suffered due to the Centauri, who believed they were better than anyone else because of some racial beliefs. He cursed the Minbari for always responding favourably to the Vorlons and their inability to see through the manipulations of the older race.

They were more than happy to be manipulated and influenced they couldn't fulfil their own greatness. It was disappointing to the ancient being.

Valen arriving 1000 years to fight in the last war had been a surprising turn of events. The arrival of the mysterious Minbari had brought a new balance to the war. Lorien didn't even have to tell that the Minbari wasn't a Minbari at all.

He wasn't as trusting of the Vorlons as the other Minbari, he didn't have the same caste prejudices as the others. Indeed, Valen had gone to a great deal of trouble to stop such prejudices occurring during the war in order for the war to be conducted properly.

It was the arrival which worried Lorien, unlike the Vorlons or the Minbari, Lorien had _seen _the manner the station had arrived. A flash of light with some sort of spherical field surrounding it….Lorien had felt the distortion of reality.

The idea Valen was a time traveller was unexpected but not one he was going to dismiss - Lorien was aware of the existence of time travel.

As time passed over the centuries, Lorien had noticed something wrong in certain parts of the universe. Whole areas of space which were dark. Areas that had once held life were now shrouded, almost like they were covered by a black blanket.

Those areas were hardly noticeable to other races like the Vorlons or the Shadows, but Lorien had visited those places for research and knowledge. He had studied many of the nebulae and planets in those places, watched the races growing and evolving, influencing them as they went.

Now they were cut off.

He also noticed one or two whispers of a race more powerful and sophisticated out there, shrouded in myth. Lorien decided to watch and wait.

Now, 1000 years later after the last war with the Shadows, Lorien noticed a Minbari cruiser approaching an area shrouded by the dark blanket. The cruiser opened some sort of rift in the field and Lorien had glimpsed a solar system…..with a familiar world in it.

A green blue planet, cloudy with an atmosphere eloquent of fertility.

He knew this planet.

The planet of the ape creatures he had encountered aeons ago, the race he'd manipulated with the pathogen and downloaded his knowledge to.

They'd accomplished feats he would never have believed possible. The fact they could hide their planets from prying eyes was telling of some of their powers.

He watched as the new beings emerged into the galaxy, more powerful and less inclined to stand for some of the arrogance the other races preached. Lorien watched as they set the record straight with the Vorlons, exposing some of the many things they'd done to other races - interfering on a genetic level, adjusting sentients to become telepaths to use as weapons of war against the Shadows.

It was the truth of the aliens from that alternate reality which shocked them. Lorien had fought those beings and had been virtually terrified by their awesome power and their will to destroy life, simply because they viewed others as inferior to themselves.

Lorien had watched as a nameless something destroyed them, destroyed their ships of evil, destroyed the gateway in which they came.

Lorien had spent years trying to find answers to those questions whilst the Vorlons, who'd opened the rift in the first place, were uncaring about the consequences to the universe.

That was one of the many issues with the Vorlons, they didn't care about anything but themselves and their own interests. They may have been explorers, but they were irresponsible about everything they did.

This new race, the Time lords as they called themselves, imposed more order than the Vorlons ever had. They helped other races, not caring about the political intrigue which those races had, awing people with their powers.

Lorien had been delighted when they helped races like the Narns. The other First ones didn't seem to care about the younger races, preferring to stay out of their businesses. That disappointed him, he believed the older races should impart wisdom and knowledge and supporting them.

Not leaving them to be sterilised because they were different from their oppressors. Lorien had wanted to leave to destroy the Centauri for that. But he couldn't leave Z'ha dum. Not yet.

He had a plan.

He could see that the Time Lords were not enamoured with the First ones and what they stood for and wanted them to leave the galaxy forever and couldn't say he blamed them.

The First ones had been a problem for many years and he was disappointed in many of them because they refused to become something better than they were.

They squabbled amongst themselves. They cared nothing for others, only fighting to protect their own interests.

It was time for fresh blood in the galaxy.

He only wondered how the Time lords would go about it.


	7. Chapter 7 The Emperor's Big Mistake

**A/n I don't own Babylon 5. Warner Bros. do and the idea for this story belongs to me.**

**Please review my story, as I need the help of improving my stories.**

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Emperor's Big Mistake.**

_Earth year 2260. Centauri Prime._

Emperor Refa, the new head of the Centauri republic, was looking out over the capital city with a satisfied smirk on his face. He was staring out at the people as well as the buildings of the great capital of the planet and the republic.

His republic.

He had spent years scheming and plotting his way to power. It hadn't been easy, taking all his cunning, his political know how and his opportunistic nature. A few manipulations here, a few blackmails here and Refa was one step closer to wearing the traditional white suit of virtue and sitting upon the throne of the Emperor or the Centauri Republic.

If anyone had used the word virtue with Refa, and knew him, they would scoff. The Centauri didn't possess a sincere, virtuous bone in his body.

The assassination of the Prime Minister had been one he had taken great pride in, pity he didn't have a chance to do the same with the Emperor, Turhan. The old fool had died of natural causes, which would've been perfect for him, considering the problems the fool had blundered through, carrying the people along with him.

Saying sorry to the Narns. Refa sneered as he remembered the dishonourable moment. Apologising was seen as weak by many of the Centauri and Refa was no different. It was a relief that the fool had collapsed, showing that his heart was still Centauri and it refused to let its body and mind surrender to the barbaric Narns.

Turning away from the window and retaking his seat on the imperial throne, Refa thought about the recent events in the galaxy.

The arrival of the Time lords.

Like everybody else in the galaxy, Refa knew next to nothing of the new mysterious race. They were introduced by the Minbari, they were powerful enough to hide their worlds and solar system behind incredible force fields. How it was done, Refa didn't know. Nor did he care.

All Refa saw was a race to exploit. The Centauri were presently preparing for another round of wars to take back their territories and double their number of colonies. The Centauri had lost many of their former holdings in many sectors over the years and Refa had no intention of letting it happen again. The Time lords and the Narns were fair game as far as the new emperor was concerned. As was mentioned previously, Refa was opportunistic.

He was shaken from his musings by the doors opening and a man of average height and build came in, he wasn't Centauri because males had their hair in elaborate crests to show their status in society. He wore a dark suit and a silver medallion.

Refa knew nothing of him, except his name.

Morden.

Morden and his mysterious " associates " had been a great help in his rise to power. The destruction of several Narn bases in the remote ranges of their respective territories for instance.

" Ah, Mr Morden. I was hoping to see you."

Morden smiled, even though he was annoyed by the pompous Centauri. Their mutual agreement stated that if they were to discuss business then it was to be conducted in a private room of Morden's choosing. Not in the middle of the throne room where anyone could listen.

In broad daylight.

Did this idiot really believe that intrigue and blackmail would end the moment he became emperor ?

Morden bowed his head, whilst trying to show as little contempt for the pathetic specimen in front of him. Morden had a very low regard for Refa, whom he thought was too greedy to be allowed. Greed was something Morden could never understand, it never got anyone anywhere and if Refa wasn't careful he would soon lose the throne.

" Your majesty. I would like to speak in private, if I may."

Refa detected the threat in the strange man's voice, and frowned. He was the emperor and demanded respect. But, he knew that Morden had given him this power and knew he could be removed just as easily. He also knew how dangerous Morden was, when the unknown had tortured one of his colleagues once with an unusual power right in front of his eyes. The man had died a day later.

He gestured to the guards, who retreated reluctantly.

As soon as they left, Morden removed a small device from his pocket. A soft noise was emitted and whilst Refa and Morden could speak freely without needing to worry about the volume of their voices, the guards could hear nothing, not that Morden particularly cared. He didn't care whether or not Refa was bothered by the silencer. The fool had summoned him here, to a public place, without thinking of the potential repercussions.

" In the agreement, I stated we should meet in quiet private places. Not in public places. Do you really think none of the Centaurum wouldn't use this against you in the Royal court ? It would be a disaster. I told you I wanted to remain anonymous. I do not care about you and your petty government, you primitives could wipe each other out for all I care, but do not believe for one instant that you have the right to involve me."

Refa was stunned by the disrespect from the man, but knew he had a point. With gritted teeth, he said, " I understand. I shall try not to repeat this mistake."

The pair of them knew that was unlikely.

" See that you do." Morden let the threat hang in the air.

For a moment both of them stood and stared at one another, then Refa got out of his throne and walked towards a small control panel. Pressing one of the controls, he conjured a hologram of a section of the galaxy.

Morden felt he recognised….no, no, he thought, realising what the Centauri wanted and had in mind.

" Earth. The Homeworld of the Time lords." Morden's heart sank lower into the pits of his intestinal tract.

The idiot. Planning an attack on a race he knew nothing about.

Morden was born on Earth, but he wasn't a Time lord. He hadn't passed that stage in the initiation, so hadn't had the benefit of the training. Whilst he felt no love for the Time lords, he knew that attacking them would be a disaster.

The Centauri wouldn't stand a chance and even if the Shadows, Vorlons and the First ones ganged up on them, it would do no good. The Time lords had the power to manipulate time and reality and as a result could delete weapons and key figures, making a war with them a dirty business.

Morden decided to try and reason with Refa before he went and did something he would regret.

" Your majesty," he began carefully, not caring if he sounded insubordinate and if the Shadows present in the room became suspicious.

" My associates are still investigating the Time lords. We still do not know much about them. Their arrival in the galaxy has thrown our plans off and we're trying to estimate the damage their arrival has already done. They could be more powerful than your fleet. The losses could be heavy."

There was something in Morden's voice that Refa caught. He smirked, " You sound afraid, Mr Morden. Afraid of some inferior race. Your associates are very powerful. Surely they can help us in our conquest of the Time lords."

_Not powerful enough, you pompous bastard_. Morden thought quietly.

Refa continued, not realising just how much danger he was in. " You can help us with the Time lords, you've dealt with the Narns."

" We do not know how powerful they are." Morden insisted.

Morden decided to ask a question he knew he would not like the answer to. Refa preferred using as destructive means possible to bring an enemy down. Whatever he had in mind for the Time lords, Morden knew, just knew, he would not like it.

" How do you intend to attack them and their home world ?"

Refa had a self satisfied smirk on his face. " With mass drivers."

" Mass drivers ?" Morden started to shake his head. Mass drivers would never be able to dent any form of Time lord shielding in any way. The ones responsible would have to find a microscopic hole to hide in.

There was no way he was going to be a part of this. To hell with his associates.

" Forget it."

Refa wouldn't let this go. He needed Morden's help to bring down the Time lords, because then if they were softened up, the Centauri would be able to move in after flattening the planet and make them more civilised in the eyes of the Centauri.

" Attack them."

" No."

" Why not ? Why do you disobey an order ?"

Morden was restraining the urge to lash out and break the emperor's neck, knowing if he did the guards would break in and kill him. Then again, it would be a release compared to what the Time lords would certainly do to him if they found him betraying them.

" I disobey an order because I do not have to obey it. Me and my associates help and advise you, we are not your people. "

" You dare ?" Refa was beside himself with rage. " You dare believe you can refuse an order from the Emperor of the Centauri Republic ?"

Morden decided to reveal something about himself. " I was born on Earth, Emperor Refa. I was almost initiated as a Time lord myself. I didn't become a Time lord. But let me tell you this, attacking the Time lords is suicide. I don't even know half of their defences and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Ignoring the shocked Centauri, Morden deactivated the silencer and turned to the doors, when he turned around.

" Go, attack the Time lords, Refa. Go and be damned."

Morden stormed out of the throne room, ignoring the idiot emperor's calls. He walked through to the main gates and prepared to leave the planet.

Then he heard a clicking noise.

The shadows.

_Why did you refuse ? Why didn't you tell us you are a Time lord ?_

A simple question belied the curiosity.

Morden decided to bluster, the last thing he needed was to be put in a position that showed he was defending the Time lords. That wasn't the case, but the idea the Centauri and the Shadows had was madness. If that came out, Refa would not hesitate to torture him and find out what he needed to know. Time lords developed mental and physical disciplines to suppress pain and heal themselves to a limited degree. Morden only possessed a small fraction of that knowledge and refused to put that small knowledge to the test.

" We know nothing about them. It would be illogical and a probable waste of time and resources to attack a race that could be strong enough to oppose you."

" I didn't tell you because I was refused Time lord training, so I am a human," he lowered his head in shame, then looked up again. " Attacking my people would be a tremendous mistake."

He hoped that would satisfy them.

It didn't.

A few clicks gave way to the following sentence his translation put in; _We would determine that, your refusal was premature. We shall fight and that is final. Do not believe you are superior to us._

Morden fumed. Then decided to go with it. The idiots would realise their mistake then he'd be on his merry way and then maybe, he'd lecture them on attacking the Time lords. Technically, he knew he hadn't told them the why not to go after them part, but he didn't care.

" Fine. I tell him I decided afterwards. If that makes you happy."

As Morden stomped back to the throne room, he couldn't help but feel this wasn't going to be a nice month.

_Earth. Year 2260. Earth Space._

Fleet Admiral Ayla Derradi sat in his chair as his ship travelled through hyperspace on the course to the planet Earth.

Derradi was concerned by the mission at hand. Whilst he was delighted at the opportunity to further the glorious Centauri cause, he was wary. Nothing was known about the Time lords, even now they had alliances with races like the Narns, the Minbari, the Abbai, the Vree and the Markabs. Each race had commented that the mysterious race was powerful, dangerous when provoked and they did not like the Vorlons.

Derradi looked around the bridge, frowning when he took in the unwelcome sight of Kran Refa, the emperor's younger brother, someone the admiral despised. He'd never liked House Refa, they were pompous, slimy and back stabbing, more so than any other family. The young Centauri had the signature look of a Refa, a smirk with a hint of superiority all over his youthful visage.

He was drawn from his thoughts by the voice of the navigation officer. " Admiral, we are reaching the jump interval where the Earth is."

Derradi nodded. " Very good. Prepare to jump." he looked at the noble only a metre away, almost like he was challenging the unwanted guest into making a protest. He was disappointed. Refa's expression was masked, so unlike his now more important elder brother.

_As the fleet jumped out of hyperspace, they didn't realise they were being followed. _

Derradi studied Earth from his centre seat, looking at the planet that was about to be ravaged by the mass drivers. It was a beautiful world, bright with water, with green landmasses and a cloudy atmosphere, almost like home, he mused.

But, as he studied the planet, his unease didn't vanish. " Are you detecting any installations, space stations, satellites ?"

The officer looked up. " No, sir."

Refa moved forward, his face smug and arrogant. " It doesn't matter Derradi, they'd have been destroyed by us in the bombardment. Begin when you are ready."

Seething at being addressed like a subordinate by a civilian, Derradi turned to the communications officer, "Contact the squadron, advise them to begin the mass drivers. Advise Centauri Prime when we receive reports of the destruction of the cities."

Turning to the weapons officer, he continued addressing his orders. " Start up our weapons. Helm, bring us within bombardment range of the planet."

As the ships moved in, the Shadow vessels watched in hyperspace, waiting for when they'd be needed. It was premature for them to appear now and distract them from their pawns work.

Morden had spent 3 hours lecturing them on the basic powers of the Time lords and what they'd learnt was enough to concern the Shadows.

From what Morden had told them, the Shadows had now gleaned a minute understanding of the powers their new enemy possessed. The Time lords could create small, self contained, pocket dimensions, travel through time and teleport matter through the higher dimensions. Many of their powers were beyond the Shadows capability.

But, an agreement was an agreement.

The massive Centauri cruisers moved closer to Earth, their mass drivers powered up. As soon as they were ready, they catapulted their loads, massive asteroids, right into the atmosphere of the planet. Derradi sat in his chair on the flagship, Refa, smirking, by his side. Both Centauri watched the asteroids shoot all the way through to the planet.

The first asteroid moved closer, then…it bounced off the atmosphere, which glowed green.

All the other asteroids did the same thing. They just bounced off.

Derradi gulped. " Please, tell me that this is an illusion and that the asteroids have levelled some of the planet ?" he begged the science officer.

The science officer looked at his commander, his face pale with horror. " It is no illusion, I am afraid sir."

" Admiral." The weapons officer cried, his voice tinged with alarm. " Something is appearing all around us. Many somethings. Over 200."

Derradi moved towards one of the windows and looked out. He saw a number of spheres black with spikes protruding from them.

" What are they ?"

There was no answer. One of the spheres moved closer and a pulse of bright blue light was fired from it. A ball, resembling a ball of electric lightening, was fired and launched itself at the nearest Centauri cruiser. As soon as it impacted, the lightening spread out, engulfing the vessel. The hull was crackling with blue energy, on and on. As soon as the energy finished enveloping the Centauri ship, it looked like the hull was crumbling.

Then.

It vanished.

Derradi looked at the horrifying spectacle, his insides frozen with horror. Then, angry at the loss of one of his squadron, he turned to face the arrogant peacock behind him. Refa was looking horrified as well, but whether it was the fact the political acclaim was not going to happen, or the loss of life, Derradi wasn't sure. All he felt was rage.

Before he could attack the weak willed little coward, the ship rocked as the Time lord weapons started attacking the ship.

That was when the Shadows appeared.

Derradi watched as the horrifying forms of the Shadow vessels appeared, their hull skin shimmering as their familiar shriek echoed in his skull. Even though he'd seen the Shadows in action, he still couldn't get over their appearance.

Derradi had never seen the point of the Shadows, the Centauri were more than capable of launching attacks on their own. They didn't need others to hold their hand.

But now….

He prayed to every god the Centauri believed in, hoping their allies would be able to fight the Time lords. He turned to face Refa, who'd recovered from his shock, his all too familiar smirk on his face. Clearly, he believed the Shadows were invincible.

He was badly wrong.

One of the Shadow vessels moved closer to the War Omni's, and fired its primary weapon at the nearest Omni. The beam impacted on the shields, not even damaging them.

The war Omni launched the lightening weapon, as Derradi referred to it. The bolt hit the Shadow vessel, causing it to shriek in agony. The Centauri watched in horror as the ship disintegrated in blue light.

The other Omni's started attacking the Shadows, slicing off pieces of them and cutting them in half. The Omni's projected their own telepathic attack on the Shadows, immobilising them and attacking them easily. The vessels were wiped out in moments.

Once the Shadows were dealt with, the Time lords turned towards the Centauri ships. One of them fired what looked like small, red liquid bubbles at one of the ships. The bubbles increased in size as they approached the ship, smothering it.

Within moments the ship was crushed.

3 ships left.

Derradi had had enough. " Prepare to jump. All power to engines."

Refa started to protest, but the admiral silenced him, " We are no match for them, all of the squadron aside from 3 have been destroyed. We must withdraw."

His words were followed by a torpedo blast.

Derradi looked around the damaged bridge, consoles were sparking and fizzing, crew members were dead and support struts were hanging. But, they were alive.

Then the power went out. " Now what ?"

The science officer answered the question, " All main power is failing throughout the ship. Tactical systems are failing. Engines are losing power. We cannot jump." He added looking at the admiral.

The ship rocked as the Omni's launched their attack.

The other 2 ships were separated from the flagship as one of the Omni's fired a purple bolt of energy at the ships. The crew watched hopelessly, thinking their death was approaching and knowing there was nothing they could do about it.

The bolt missed the 2 ships, and seemed to impact on space, like a water droplet hitting a pane of glass. The energy from the bolt cracked outwards, ripping space with it. As soon as the spatial rupture hit the Centauri ships they were caught in a storm.

Both ships started getting pulled in, their crews trying desperately to get their ships engines working hard enough to get out. The energy field resembled a flower blooming and the ships were dangerously close to the centre. As both ships touched the centre, they exploded with incredible force.

Derradi and Refa had watched as the last 2 ships of 3 were destroyed by the Time lord weapon.

" I hope the emperor doesn't expect us to go to war with these people for this Refa, because from where I'm standing I don't believe we would win one skirmish."

Refa's world was shaking from its foundations and the Admiral knew it. He also knew that the Centauri would probably go to war with the Time lords. Their pride would demand no less.

One of the war Omni's came close.

_War Omni 567. _

Sub Commander Susan Ivanova, of the Tenth Time lord Battlefleet, was watching the battle from her position on the bridge of the War Omni.

" Activate grav field. Tow the cruiser to the hyper drive gate." She ordered a technician on the bridge.

" Aye Sub commander." The officer replied.

Susan watched as the Omni generated a tractor beam on the cruiser. It looked like it was going to collapse on itself at any moment but Susan didn't care, the Centauri had attacked without provocation and they could fall into a black hole for all she cared.

" Disengage the cloaking barrier of Gate 472. Set the dial to the Centauri home system."

As the crew followed her directions, Susan was caught up by the events and their repercussions. The attack would not be tolerated in the Time lord Commonwealth. The Centauri were doomed.

" Sub Commander, the gate is decloaked. Hyperspace conduit established. Jump in 1 minute."

" Excellent." The crew were more than used to such responses from the 453 year old Time lady. Ivanova rarely showed that sort of rewarding regard for the crew. She believed in excellence above all else. To her, the crew were a well oiled machine and failure was not an option.

Susan sat back in her seat, watching the eye of the hyper drive conduit open up in front. The Centauri had been detected several days ago, making a mobilisation easy. Considering the number of ships, the use of the mass drivers - Susan still couldn't wrap her brain round the concept the Centauri would try planetary devastation without trying to learn more about the race they were trying to conquer - the involvement of the Shadows.

Susan's eyes and jaw hardened when she thought about the Shadows. Chances of them surviving the war that was coming was slim. Like all other Time lords, she had been taught that the first ones were belligerent, arrogant and petty. The attack was something that took the cake, their first contact with any of the ancient races and they had to attack them on the word of a traitor.

Ivanova's jaw clenched even tighter at the thought of Morden. The Time lords had been aware that one of the Human class had been a Shadow agent for a while, but they hadn't expected him to be so treacherous as to order the Shadows to attack Earth. Didn't the fool realise the consequences of the act ?

She was drawn out of her dark musings by the tactical officer. " We've thrown the Centauri ship into the hyperspace vortex, Sub Commander."

Susan got up from her seat. " Good. Advise High Command of the battle and give in tactical reports. Inform them my own report will be in their inbox in the morning."

" Sub Commander. The President is demanding for you to make contact with her."

Susan's eyes widened, but she was able to use her Time lady control to calm her mind of the ramifications of the order.

Without a word she left the bridge and walked into her private quarters. She activated the holocomm, only to reveal a holographic image of the president in her rooms.

" Lady President. Sub Commander Susan Ivanova, 10th Time Lord Battle fleet. You sent for me." Susan intoned the proper military greeting with straight shoulders and raised head.

" Sub Commander, did you follow Commands orders in the disposal of the Centauri flag ship ?"

" Yes Ma'am." Susan said without a hint of emotion. Rose was almost proud of the lack of emotion, since Time lords strove to release them early in their training. Detachment and intelligence were necessary traits for a Time lady, particulary one of Susan's rank.

" Very good. Your new orders are simple; raze the Centauri to the ground. destroy their planets, their ships, everything."

" Everything ? You mean…?" Susan couldn't believe what the president was suggesting. Genocide. that went against the most sacred edicts of the Time lord race.

" No," the president reassured her, " Simply make them suffer."

" As far as the Time Lords are concerned, War has been declared on the Centauri republic."


	8. Chapter 8 War

**The Lords of Time.**

**War.**

_Six weeks later. On the edge of Centauri Space._

The fleet was small, battered and heavily damaged. Their hulls had multiple breaches and burns all along their infrastructures. They'd been in space for the last 2 weeks, trying to put a large enough dent in the defences of their latest enemy. They hadn't succeeded, instead, they'd been battered completely. Time and time again, their ships had been hit by low yield torpedoes, causing low level damage, but it was enough to create problems.

The Time lords. The most dangerous, powerful and unpredictable enemy the Centauri republic had ever faced. Sadly, the Centauri realised one thing, they were losing the conflict.

They, the Centauri, had sent out squadrons of up to 100 ships with a simple mission - to attack, destroy and conquer Time lord colonies. They thought, at least the less intelligent, that their new opponents would not have the same defences as their homeworld. Unfortunately, all the Time lord worlds, at least those revealed, had the same defences as the homeworld. No matter what the Centauri did they could not beat the Time lords in a fair ( to the Centauri ) fight.

100 ships - only 40 had survived the carnage. The others had been destroyed and now they were being pursued. Their jump engines were badly crippled making interstellar travel impossible. Without jump engines they couldn't survive. It didn't help matters that the Time lords had threatened every other race about the Centauri using their jump gates.

They were defenceless. The fact their weapons, once envied and feared by races, were useless was another dismal notch.

That wasn't the worst of it.

They didn't realise they were being hunted.

It was when the first shot was fired did they realise their predicament. A single war Omni had appeared and opened fire. The exhausted Centauri had tried to put up a valiant struggle, only to find themselves in a wolf pack. 30 Omnis appeared and battered the fleet, destroying their ships and escape pods.

No survivors.

_13 days later._

The latest ships were leaving the planet, their engines and hulls not even cold from the landing as they'd descended about half an hour ago.

The planet was being evacuated as fast as possible. Time lord attacks were becoming more and more devastating as the fleets under their command launched attacks more brutal than the last at the Centauri. The inhabitants knew that the Time lords tended to destroy everything in their way, so they knew speed was essential in order to survive.

Wave after wave of ships were being sent through the jump gate, each one crammed into the conduits trying to escape from the inevitable assault. They knew the enemy was coming. It was only a matter of time and a matter of bad luck.

The planet was only half empty by the time the Time lords attacked. It was a surprise attack, but since the Time lords had been in the area for 5 hours waiting for the moment to strike it was a shock to the Centauri. In the first minute 30 ships were destroyed, another 13 were heavily damaged floating in space.

One of the Omni's moved close to the planet, glowing blue and then a missile was launched towards the planet. The watching Centauri watched with horror as the missile vanished in a flash of light. A minute later and they saw the planet glow a blue colour. It was faint at first, then it became brighter and brighter.

In the centre of the planet, the missile was still intact, its special phase tech protecting it from the worst of the pressure of the molten core. The phase shifter deactivated and the missile was crushed.

But that didn't stop the destructive power it unleashed. The missile contained one of the most devastating substances known to exist. Now, it was outside the magnetic containment cages, it was lethal. The small blob of blue matter ( yes, I stole the idea from the Star trek movie cos I felt like it.) started shaking and then it collapsed on itself.

The heat, pressure and the gravitational influence on the blue matter collapsed it, in and in and in until a small black hole appeared. Then, it started to expand. It grew larger, using the gravitational and pressure resources of the core to fuel its unending hunger.

The singularity grew larger and larger….

On the bridge of one of the Centauri ships a science officer shouted to his captain.

" Sir, the gravitational influence of the planet is going off the scale. If my calculations are correct they…they're creating a black hole in the centre of the planet."

The whole bridge crew stared at the young officer, but they were far from disbelieving. They were accustomed to this action. The Time lords had crushed a star into a black hole only a week ago, killing at least 4 million people and wasting resources and equipment.

The captain assimilated the information from the science officer as calmly as he could. The crew knew he was under a lot of stress, this was the last thing he wanted.

" How long till the planet collapses on itself ?" The captain said at last, his voice calm.

" Minutes."

The captain turned to the comm officer and barked, " Don't just sit there ! Get the evacuation moving ! Order the jump gate on line, no, in fact tell the ships to use the jump points generated from other ships ! Get moving you incompetent fool!"

The Time lord ships watched as the Centauri fleet were leaving their doomed planet. The planet was already under incredible stress, earthquakes were destroying the cities and works of the planet. The mountain ranges, the geographical features were blurring as the black hole in the centre of the planet was destroying the planet.

" Please, don't fire on us. Please, don't fire on us." the captain, the crew, the refugees chanted to themselves, praying to every deity their race worshipped to keep the Time lords at bay.

The Time lords had shown that they could be generous, particularly when victory was certain. On some occasion the Time lords ignored the refugees and waited for the destruction of the area they were attacking.

They prayed they'd be lucky this time.

_War Omni 256._

John Sheridan watched on the holographic monitor as the Centauri refugees piled through the hyperspace openings. In many ways Sheridan pitied the Centauri.

The fools may have started the war, but the Time lords were battering the far weaker opponent into greater grief. Already the death toll was being mounted against Refa's door.

Sheridan turned towards the comm officer. " Advise the other Omni's, tell them NOT to fire on the refugee ships. This is the first time blue matter has been used, I want the Centauri to witness the basic results."

" Aye Sir."

_Although_, Sheridan thought, _they'd have detected the gravitational influence by now_.

" How long does the planet have ?" Sheridan asked the science officer.

" 7 minutes, 23 seconds." The young Time lady at the station replied, her voice devoid of emotion for the carnage they were causing, but Sheridan could hear the faint quiver in her voice. He couldn't blame her, blue matter was something not really meant to be used against younger races.

" Sir !" Tactical suddenly shouted. " I'm picking them up. Again." He finished with a hint of exasperation.

Sheridan turned in his seat, " Who are you….oh," he realised, " The Minbari."

The tactical officer nodded, gritting his teeth in frustration, before suppressing the emotion he was feeling. Sheridan ignored him, feeling the same frustration.

" They're hiding behind a moon. Their stealth drive is on maximum, but our scanners are picking them up easily." Tactical reported after a moment, but Sheridan was thinking about the implications this brought up.

The Minbari had sent several of their cruisers to spy on Time lord installations in the past few weeks, believing incorrectly that their stealth technologies would prevent the Time lords from detecting them. Already 2 of their ships had been destroyed and the Minbari refused to see that spying on the Time lords was a big mistake. Wasn't the war with the Centauri persuading their idiotic government the Time lords did not take such attacks lightly ?

Sheridan suspected it had something to do with the grey council member who'd tried to attack one of the technicians back home. The Minbari were a proud but arrogant people, believing they were automatically superior over all others because of a war that had occurred 10 centuries ago. The Minbari wanted to prove themselves superior to the Time lords, but, the only way Sheridan could see that happen, especially with the military caste was to launch an interstellar war.

He reached a decision, turning to the comm and tactical officers, he gave orders, " Tell the rest of the squadron to ignore the Minbari vessel. If they want to know what'll happen to the planet, let them look and take the stories back to their bigoted little world. If the ship comes closer, I want it destroyed, to hell with the treaty with them. Comm, hail the president. I want to speak to her."

It didn't take long for the president to respond to the hail, so Sheridan was prepared and waiting. As soon as he entered the ready room the first thing he saw was the president, a full holographic image of her in his office. Sheridan inclined his head in greeting.

The president started the meeting without preamble. " I understand the Minbari are once again spying on our operations ?"

" Yes. They're hiding behind a moon, they're using their stealth drives to mask their presence. I want them to witness the destruction of the planet we're orbiting right now. I want them to realise a war with us comes with to higher price than necessary."

Rose nodded, approving the decision. " Good. How are the crews on the Omni's taking it ?"

Sheridan, concerned this was a trick question, thought carefully about the reply he gave to the ruler of the Time lord race.

" They…don't like the use of blue matter. The use of that is seen as…extreme. In war, the use of blue matter is only to be used in extreme measures."

Rose's hologram was silent and Sheridan was silent outwardly but inside he was nervous. But he needn't have worried, Rose didn't like the use of blue matter either but in this war it was necessary to show the other races attacking the Time lords was a major mistake. It was cruel but it was essential.

" Good answer. As for the Minbari, this is not the first time I've heard of these spy operations. Already they've lost people and equipment, what more do they want ? Sheridan, I want you to capture that ship."

Sheridan looked at her, almost like the president was insane. Rose caught the gesture and laughed. " I assure you, Captain, I am very sane. You have a viral weapon do you not ?"

" Yes."

" I want you to transmit the nano control virus to their ship. I want that ship impounded, the crew captured and contained. How I don't care, but contain them. I'll send a city ship to your position and they'll take them somewhere else. Then, we should be in a far better position to dictate terms to the Minbari and get them out of our hair once and for all."

Sheridan nodded, approving the plan, but seeing a flaw in it at the same time. " Or plunge us in another war."

Rose nodded, her mind accepting the logic of the captain's argument, but already thinking up ways of getting around the issues.

" We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But my orders stand. Capture that ship. Now. I, and the rest of the high council are fed up with reports of Minbari spies. I want this finished. Or, I will destroy the Minbari."

_Minbari war cruiser._

Neroon, captain of the War cruiser Trigati was staring at the holographic display all around him and his science officer Deeron. The Time Lords had surrounded the planet, letting the barely organised bedlam which was the Centauri refugee fleet escape through the jump points as fast as they could.

Neroon stared at the planet. He'd done little else since that missile had vanished in that flash of light. The warrior didn't like this. He didn't like the mission, he didn't like the spying, he didn't like the circumstances. The cruiser along with 3 others had been spying on the Time lords since the war began, gathering intelligence and finding out the weaknesses of the Time lords. Neroon wasn't stupid, he knew the warrior caste was humiliated by what had happened on Earth. In his opinion, Morann should've stayed there in prison, not let loose.

The young Minbari was a liability, the others were too stupid to realise it yet.

Neroon only had to look at the planet, looking already like a sandcastle crumbling to pieces in a wave, and felt fear. He knew it was unlike a member of the Minbari warrior caste to show fear but he couldn't help it. The Time lords had a power even the first ones couldn't resist.

" Tell me, Deeron, do you believe we can fight an enemy with the power to turn a planet into a black hole ?"

The Minbari woman stared at the image, her face impassive, " It should be impossible."

" Impossible ?" Neroon let out a laugh, it sounded like a bark in reality. " The Time lords are destroying a planet, turning it into a black hole, destroying large areas of Centauri space, and you call their abilities " impossible " ?"

" Our science says…." She didn't finish when the irate Minbari interrupted her.

" Our science ? Yes, our almighty science says it is impossible to fold hyperspace, creating conduits. Our science has no means of manipulating time. Our science has the ability to create a black hole for energy, not for weaponry. Then, tell me, how is it we cannot do something but the Time lords can and you, a scientist, are refusing to believe the facts and evidence you are seeing with your own eyes ?"

Neroon took a deep breath. " Ever since the Time lords emerged, they have aided races, the Narn, the Abbai, the Gaim and the Vree. They have shown them how to manipulate hyperspace, creating said conduits for more rapid transportation, they have given the Narns the ability to repair the damage the Centauri caused their homeworld. The Centauri are losing this conflict, we, the Minbari, have lost 2 ships to them. Two ! Because we arrogantly assume we can best them in honourable conflict."

Neroon took a deep breath, but he was stopped in his rant by a hail from the bridge.

A crewman reported. " Captain Neroon. A Time lord vessel has appeared in front of our ship."

" Is the stealth drive on full ?" It was a stupid question, but he needed to ask.

" Yes Sir. They're hailing."

" Put it through down here."

There was no use resisting. Neroon looked as the image on the holoviewer focused on the image of a man. Judging by the Minbari's rudimentary knowledge of Time lord uniform insignia, this was a captain of the Time lord Star fleet.

The Time lord spoke without preamble, his voice calm. " Minbari vessel, I am Captain John Sheridan, of the 5th Time lord Battlefleet. You are intruding in an area of space you have no business being in." the Time lord suddenly looked weary. " Why is it, every time we deal with the Centauri, you turn up ? You might as well answer the question, the Grey council will not save you this time."

Neroon bridled at the threat but he knew the Time lord was right. The Grey council had indeed sent them, the militant sector anyway. The warrior decided to play for time.

" We are conducting research, you understand -"

" No, I don't understand." Sheridan interrupted. " there is nothing to research here. The planet is virtually gone, as will yours. Particularly, if you continue interfering in our affairs. The treaty between our races is very clear, in times of war, one side will remain neutral unless assistance is asked. We do not need to ask assistance in this case. You are witnesses of the power we wield, yet you continue to believe your technology can match ours. It cannot."

As if to prove the point, the lighting in the room flickered. Ignoring Sheridan, Neroon opened a comm with the bridge, " Neroon. Bridge, what is happening ?"

The voice on the other end flickered. " Sir…..ridge…..gineering….engineering reports….tate….state that the ….omputer core is ….fluctuating. Main power…..power is fading. All over the ship….."

Neroon turned to the image of the Time lord, who was silent and listening calmly. " What have you done ?"

There was anger in his voice and a touch of fear. Deeron was also frightened. The Time lords were responsible for sabotaging their ship and they didn't even know.

" Protected our interests." Was the only reply. The image faded.

Just then a crewman ran in and clutched his chest, breathing heavily. Neroon stared at him, recognising him as a bridge officer. " What are you doing here ?"

" Sir, " the Minbari panted. His chest hurt him since the run. " the Time lords….they're on board the ship."

_In another section of the Ship…._

The Minbari warriors were clustered in a corridor close to the engine room. They were stunned, horrified. They knew the Time lords were powerful, seeing a planet consumed by a black hole was one thing. The ship being boarded was something they had no experience of. Usually they were able to fight off invaders, but this…

Just then, they saw the Time lords transport themselves on board. The warriors gasped, shocked their security was compromised. Tro'shann, one of the warriors, had heard of Time lord teleportation, but seeing it was something new. The process involved a sphere, glowing a green colour and collapsing, revealing the people within.

The Time lords were clothed in armour, hiding their faces. The armour was a silver colour, the helmets were a black visor. They all had some kind of pack on the back.

The warriors lifted their own weapons and started firing them at the enemy soldiers. The discharges hit each of the armoured invaders, but they did no damage. Instead, a shield stopped and absorbed the energy, preventing contact with the armour.

One of the Time lords lifted his right arm and Tro'Shann saw what he was holding, an electron whip of some sort. He swung it in a wide arc, glowing with red energy. A bolt of energy was launched from it, striking every Minbari in the wave it created.

Tro'Shann fell to the ground, his body paralysed. He felt the cold armoured hands remove his weapons and bind him with copper coloured binders. He felt his pride burn with energy, even though there was nothing he could do about it.

He was a prisoner.

_War Omni 256._

Sheridan stared at the image of the Minbari Sharlin class cruiser on the scanner screen, ignoring the thoughts the sight conjured up in his mind. Whilst he had no feeling for the way the ship was being captured, he was concerned about the Minbari on a whole. It wasn't that they'd be able to take on the Time lords, oh no, the Minbari would be conquered and their technology was no match for the Time lords.

It was the trouble of the Grey council which concerned him. The President didn't particularly care what the arrogant aliens wanted and thought, but she did care about the interference and constant meddling the Minbari seemed to specialise in. Sheridan and the rest of the star fleet felt the same, there had to be a line drawn at some point. Besides, with the destruction of the planet soon to become public knowledge, along with the threat that that was what happened to enemies of the Time lords, there wasn't likely to be any interference.

" Sir," the communications chief spoke up, his eyes reading the message on the screen. " City ship approaching. hyper drive conduit opened from Malesta sector. They should be here within 10 minutes."

" Good. Find out where they intend to take the cruiser."

" Aye sir."

_On the edge of the solar system, close to the Minbari ship._

A hyperspace aperture opened a good distance away from the Minbari cruiser, and a massive starship dropped out of hyperspace.

The Time Lord City ship itself was a massive birdlike ship, with a mottled green, yellow and purple hull. It was an impressive vessel, Sheridan thought that the Minbari, who'd never witnessed a sight like it in their short lived lives would never see it, especially since they were paralysed.

As the Ship slowed down towards the cruiser, the Minbari ship glowed as a massive teleportation sphere encompassed it. The cruiser materialised inside the city ship.

On the bridge of the massive city ship, the captain gave orders. " Lock down the dock area where the cruiser is now berthed," " Keep the paralyser on for another 2 hours.", " prepare to offload every weapon and anything that can be used as a weapon, tools, etc. all of it. I want our people to move through the ship freely."

For the next 2 hours, the Time lords took every last tool, every last nut and bolt, every denbok fighting pike and PPG. The Time lords were taking no chances, but they knew the Minbari were cunning and dangerous. The captain of the city ship toured the vessel, stepping on the Minbari in open contempt.

He glanced down at one of them, a sneer on his face. " Maybe now you'll learn."

_The Grey council cruiser._

" We shouldn't be summoned like….like errand boys. They should be coming to us !" Morann hissed at Dukhat, as the leader walked down the corridors of the ship to the chamber the council used for debates and meetings.

They were travelling through space when the Time lord president had arrived on board. Dukhat and the rest of the council had been summoned to a meeting with her and several others.

" And how, for Valen's sake, do you expect to teach them that ? You don't seem to understand Morann, the Time lords do not answer to us. They never have and I seriously doubt if your arrogance can convince them otherwise." Dukhat stared icily at the warrior.

In truth, the leader of the Minbari people was seriously reconsidering the wisdom in bringing the arrogant warrior into the grey council. It didn't help matter that Morann had tried to kill a Time lord on their own planet.

Morann stared at the leader, his mouth gaping. " Close your mouth, you look as though you've swallowed a fish."

Morann closed it, but then resumed his argument. " Master," he began contritely, " I beg your forgiveness. We…we are the Minbari, we deserve respect."

" Respect, as the Time lords have said, is earned. Not given." Dukhat stared the warrior down. " You yourself Morann are in deep trouble and contempt with the Time lords. When we go inside, BE quiet. Do Not talk. Do not even breath loudly."

" But Master.,"

" Shut up, Morann. I'm warning you. If you provoke me, as well as the president of the most powerful race we have ever met, you will regret it." There was an unassuming smile on Dukhat's face, but Morann knew him enough to know he MEANT every word.

As they walked into the meeting hall, Morann saw the Time lords instantly. There were only 2 he knew personally, the President and Elizabeth Reynolds, the Time lord chief of staff.

There were 3 others, 2 men and a woman. The males were dressed in flowing dark blue robes, Morann recognised them as the diplomatic corps. The woman, on the other hand was dressed in a simple dark blue tunic with the badges and symbols of the Time lord Star fleet. A soldier.

Rose greeted the Minbari with a curt nod. As soon as the 10 Minbari were in the room, she started. " To my right are Marcus Cole and Jeffrey Sinclair, of the diplomatic corps. You already know Elizabeth," a curt nod from Elizabeth and a bow of greetings from Cole and Sinclair. " This is Commander Susan Ivanova, of the 5th Battlefleet."

Moraan only needed to see her face to know she was a typical Time lady - her face was impassive, her stance strong and straight. He also saw she had a look of contempt on her face as she looked around the room.

Rose noticed his stare at the commander. " Susan, if you may."

Susan stepped forward and tapped a few controls on her bracelet. At once, the holo viewer descended, showing the scene of a Sharlin class cruiser being captured by the Time lords, they saw the conversation between Sheridan and Neroon, the position of the cruiser and the use of the stealth drive. They saw the ease the Time lords had used when capturing the cruiser.

Susan stopped the image, only to play the messages from the cruisers, showing the selections of the conversations, which only highlighted the arrogance of the warrior caste and the espionage they were undertaking. They also saw the Minbari warriors strapped to table / chairs and revealing the information of their missions.

As soon as the images ended, the warrior caste members were uneasy. They had organised the spy missions without Dukhat's consent. Now, they would pay for it.

Before the Minbari could debate further, Rose stepped in. " The Minbari vessel that has been detained by us is in a secure facility where you cannot find them," she looked around the Minbari, their hoods obscuring their faces. " I cannot stress how thin our patience is right now. We, the Time lords, are presently fighting a war with a primitive race who are scarcely our time. If I catch another Minbari ship spying on our operations during this war, your world will be the next to be consumed by a black hole. Is that clear ?"


	9. Chapter 9 The Fall of Centauri Prime

**The Lords of Time.**

**The fall of Centauri Prime.**

_Earth_**.**

It was evening on Earth. The view was beautiful with the crystalline buildings shimmering blue in the dark. The president was staring out at the gardens. The cities of the Time lord people had gardens the size of forests in their midst, giving the cities a more green appearance from space. They were also incredible places to think and to reflect on recent events. The president was no different. Her predecessors wouldn't have been as open, but Rose was different. She enjoyed walking amongst her people, listening to them in a relaxed way. The president of the council traditionally stayed out of the public eye and ruled via proxies.

Not Rose, Rose enjoyed walking among her people, it made her think she wasn't aloof.

Rose looked out of the windows of her office suite, thinking about the last week. The Minbari had been put in their place and now the league of Non aligned worlds was been told, right this moment, of the consequences of crossing the Time lords.

Rose sighed, truly regretting the need for the use of destroying actual planets to prove they were powerful, but they had no alternative, no choice. The other races needed to grow up, fast. The Time lords plans were far too important for a primitive race to interfere in one of their long term plans.

She was responsible for war crimes, atrocities but they could not have been helped or prevented.

Now, she had something even LESS to look forward to - the conquest of Centauri prime.

_Centauri Prime._

Londo Mollari walked down the corridors of the palace, going over in his mind the report he had brought to the Emperor. Mollari had been delighted that his people finally had a leader who deserved the name Centauri after that old fool Turhan, but that had long since changed, now they were on the brink of oblivion. Turhan may have been weak willed as his reign neared its end, but he would ever have blindly leapt to attack a stronger opponent.

Refa was not helping the war effort. In fact, he was struggling under the pressure, what else could the posturing peacock do ?

Mollari had been trying to get Refa to issue an evacuation order which he and many in the Centaurum had been trying to write and order for the last 5 weeks. Homeworld was the next target and everyone knew it. All, except it seems, Refa. The fool refused. The Emperor has always been arrogant, caring only about himself and power, Mollari mused. A twinge of guilt flashed as he remembered his own desire for power and supporters.

He was so wrapped up in his musings he wasn't watching where he was going until he bumped into somebody.

" Excuse me, I apolo.." He tried to apologise for being absent minded when his words faltered and his mind realised who it was he'd bumped into.

" Mr Morden, I didn't realise you were still here."

Morden had been minding his own business, on his way to announce he was leaving Centauri prime. His associates had finally come to their senses. The attack on Earth had been psychically painful for the Shadows, now they'd withdrawn their influence from Centauri prime. They'd left, no abandoned him, here on this sad planet.

He'd be lucky if he would survive the punishment metted out to him by the Time lords.

" Unluckily for me, I am here." Morden said to him, noting the distress on the Centauri's face. Good, maybe it'd knock some common sense into these primitives brains. He turned to walk away from Londo. As far as Morden was concerned the discussion was over.

" Mr Morden, I'd like to speak to you." Londo rushed to keep up with the human's long strides.

" About what, the arrogance of your wonderful emperor ? I warned him Londo, I warned him not to attack the Time lords. This war is his fault. Not mine."

Mollari couldn't argue with that as much as he'd like to. Refa had ordered the war and Centauri blood was on his hands, the man had wanted the influence of the Centauri to rise again and a new age of conquest inaugurated. All he got in return was a war that had seen 7 planets destroyed and thousands of ships and soldiers dead and destroyed.

" I know, but surely there must be a way your associates can do something ?"

" Like what, lose another few ships ? Don't you understand, first one technology is no match for the Time lords science. Nothing you or your worthless Emperor can do can stop the inevitable. Besides," Morden decided to confess, " The Shadows have withdrawn their services. They've abandoned me here, now I'm waiting for my punishment. The Time lords do not tolerate treason of my kind. Z'ha dum was attacked a few weeks ago. The attack on Earth changed their minds but it was the attack on their homeworld that clinched the decision. The Shadows will not attack the Time lords. Besides, they're no match for a war Omni."

Londo was struggling not to panic, the Shadows should've been a stepping stone, a key to the rebirth of the Centauri empire, now they were terrified of a virtually unknown power. Londo would never admit it but he was frightened of the Time lords. The destruction of the planets being converted into black holes was a frightening vision. How in the name of the maker could Refa have started the war without finding out more about the Time lords ?

" What must we do ?" Mollari asked.

" Run and pray. Pray the Time lords will have mercy for later. They are coming, Londo, whether you like it or not. Refa is going to pay."

_3 days later._

The capital of the Centauri republic woke up after a troubled sleep, the news that 4 more of the deep range worlds and their defences had been overrun in just an hour and the evacuees were on their way to the solar system made for seriously bad news.

Emperor Refa looked over the city from the palace throne room window. He hadn't had much sleep, just like the rest of his people. The Centaurum and the royal court were talking about ousting him from the throne and this time the emperor had the loyalty of no one.

" All emperors decisions show the people their wisdom. A wise emperor weighs decisions carefully, going over the consequences of those decisions. An unwise decision shows the people that their loyalty is misplaced." Emperor Turhan had said that long before he'd died.

Even in death, the old man's words sounded prophetic. Ironic, really. Refa had always been contemptuous of his predecessor, putting down his memory and the way he'd lead his people, now here he was, proving Turhan's point.

He wasn't responsible for the destruction and humiliation of the Centauri Republic, Refa was.

It was a bitter pill to swallow.

The guards suddenly opened the doors and Mr. Morden walked in, he didn't look happy to be here in Refa's presence.

" Your…majesty." The way the last word was said pulled Refa up short. He could detect the disdain and sarcasm in the mystery man's voice.

" Morden. I want to ask…." Refa began.

" Ask away. Ask how you're going to save your people and your world from being taken down."

Refa looked at his guest. Why couldn't he help ?

" Mr Morden, I want to know if there is any way you and your associates could help us in fighting the Time lords ? There must be a way, you are a Time lord."

Morden winced. The memory of his initiation was a bitter one for him. The outcasts had had to make their own futures, learning basic skills and abilities without the courses and training the Time lord novices and apprentices had. Morden had watched his brothers and sisters become Time lords and the jealousy was still there.

It still hurt. Morden was an educated human but his education was nothing compared to what his youngest sister was getting at the Academy back home on Earth.

" Firstly, I am NOT a Time lord. I am human. The initiation ceremony cast me aside and I've had to make my own way. Secondly, my education is basic and I don't know how the Omni's used in the war effort work or how to stop them. Thirdly, my associates home planet was attacked, four nesting grounds for their ships were bombed, destroying the ships and the defences of the planet have been seriously compromised by the assault. Even if they weren't, my associates would never stand a moment against the Time lords. I tried to warn them and you, Refa, that your pathetic little war would only rouse the Time lords and give you a war you'd probably never recover from."

Morden looked at him, almost in pity. " Centauri prime is finished. You cannot see it."

_1 day later…_

The next day started like normal, except this time the fate of the Centauri was in the balance.

5 hours into the day, the inhabitants of the planet heard an unusual sound. It sounded like a wheezing, groaning sound. In the air, above every major city, 5 or 6 spheres materialised in the air. Nearby hovered 4 people, wearing black armoured suits with anti-gravitational jet packs.

The spheres started rotating, spinning faster and faster.

On the surface of the spheres were 4 segments. They opened and the spheres continued to spin. Suddenly, each sphere spat out Time lord soldiers. The interior pocket dimensions inside the spheres contained thousands and thousands of soldiers.

Now, they were loose. As soon as they were out and a safe distance from the spheres, they formed legions of 50 and spread out.

The streets were overrun with people trying to get away, dropping their shopping and running as fast as they could to get away from the Time lords.

Liz Reynolds and Susan Ivanova were in suits, hovering over the cities.

" Begin. Destroy the buildings, leave the palace alone. Refa is for the trial, along with the royal court and the centaurum." Liz sent through the command circuit into every soldiers helmet.

" Kill the armies and the soldiers. Destroy any military vehicle. Attack ships leaving the ground and those in the atmosphere on the descent." Susan added through the comm filter.

The attack started when the soldiers swooped down, like birds of prey, towards the cities. The people screamed and tried to run away.

It was bedlam.

The streets were filled with rubble, ships were attacked by the much lighter Time lord soldiers. The engines were attacked and destroyed. There was an old saying, " what goes up, must come down." The Centauri were realising how hard that saying was to prevent.

Their ships fell from the sky and fell when gravity exerted the deadly hold on their hulls. They crashed to the ground, killing all on board unlucky enough to survive the first assault.

The ground defence units, unaccustomed to fighting in their own homeland, tried to fight the Time lords, only to find themselves divided and conquered. The Centauri generals, desperate to stop the fight couldn't even decide what to do and as a result their orders were countermanded and reissued and the soldiers under their command were confused and lost a lot of ground because of it.

It wasn't any better around the surviving colonies, the Time lords were bombarding and invading the planets of the Centauri. The same things happened there as on the home planet. What was left of the space fleet were sent via a hyperspace wormhole and deposited in safe locations. The engines and weapons were disabled, the crews imprisoned on city ships.

Above Centauri prime, the Omni's were doing their part.

On war Omni 889, the commander received a report.

" To all Omni's, intercept the royal liner. Destroy the engines and weapons, order city ship to capture the crews."

The commander considered, the instructions for the whole attack force was simple - do not kill the emperor. His fate was to be decided back on Earth.

" Is Refa on board."

The was a pause and the Omni commander wondered whether or not the Centauri emperor had played with them. Not a wise move.

" Confirmed. Brain scan conclusive. Refa is on board, along with a good portion of the nobility." the voice on the other end was impatient, clearly wanting the Omni to do their job.

" Alright, we'll deal with it." To the comm officer, he barked, " order the city ship to lock on the brain scans of Refa and the nobility. Beam them into holding cells."

To the weapons' officer, he said, " Destroy the ship."

For 4 straight hours on the first day, the defences of the Centauri homeworld and the rest of the surviving colonies were being brought down. The Time lords had decided on a simple approach to bring down their opponent - they weren't considered an enemy, mostly because they were so weak compared to races like the Vorlons and the Shadows.

The approach was materialising their forces in dimension troop carriers and unleashing them on the unsuspecting Centauri, the soldiers would attack, destroy and neutralise the Centauri military, the war ships in orbit would be rendered useless, because the attack was coming from behind. The War Omni's would decimate the fleet, destroying their internal structures and destroying their engines, computer systems and weapons. The Centauri warships were reduced to particles of space dust.

On the planets it was no better, the soldiers were attacking the Centauri's power, water and food supplies - starving them into submission. For 3 days, whilst their energy and food supplies were being brought down, the Centauri put up a damn good fight. But, in the end, it made no difference.

Morden was sitting in a cell in the palace. The Centauri had ignored his claims of not being a Time lord and had contacted the Time lords saying they'd kill him. Morden knew that the Centauri wouldn't kill him as well as they'd hoped - even humans regenerated and he could control the amount of pain in his body. Humans and Time lords had the ability to manipulate their bodies to repair their organs and bodies to repair and replace their body parts if the originals were torn out or decayed to the point of uselessness.

Alternatively, Morden mused, he could put himself into a trance and stop his heartbeats, killing him. He had nothing to lose, he was a traitor to his own race, he'd allied himself with a dangerous power that he knew the Time lords would love to see the back of, the Centauri were threatening to kill him.

If he was truthful to himself, Morden hoped that he could die.

It was a morbid thought, but it was true.

Londo Mollari was looking on the security camera at the prisoner. He was one of the few members of the nobility and the Centaurum who'd decided to remain on homeworld. He didn't regret the decision - the nobility had been captured, the ship destroyed and there was no mention of the emperor from the transmissions of the war Omni's.

Mollari wondered how long his people, his planet could hold out. It was a question that was on the lips of many of his people.

If he was honest with himself Londo knew they had no choice.

It left him cold, but honestly, there was no alternative.

Surrender.

It would disgrace the name of the Centauri, but if they didn't surrender because of their pride then their people would die out and become extinct.

The Centauri would merely become a footnote in the annals of history, remembered as the race that attacked a more powerful race and lost.

They were already finished, but they could still save their people.

Mollari summoned the remnant of the nobility. He had no choice, but if he worded the meeting carefully….

_1 day later…._

The Time lords were surprised when they received the surrender notification. They were expecting it, but they'd expected the Centauri to keep fighting, no matter how futile the action was.

First the soldiers remaining were told to lay down their weapons and surrender. The Centauri army was more than happy to, they'd lost a large number of their comrades and they couldn't see how they could win this fight.

For the next 4 days, disarmament was held, every weapon or anything that could and would be used as a weapon was confiscated. Those who were refused were killed. Including innocents - civilians to be exact.

The Time lords destroyed every single industry the Centauri possessed - every metallurgy plant, every power plant, every small industry. All were destroyed right down to the atoms. When the Centauri protested, the Time lords silenced them by bringing a surprise.

The Centauri looked up as not only did the entourage of 3 Time lords enter with 4 armoured guards but also 2 Narns.

" You cannot do this!" Londo Mollari protested. Another noble protested.

" We shall fight back, you can't ignore that."

" Why not, Mollari ? Afraid ?" G'kar or the Narn regime was enjoying this immensely.

The Narns had been brought in a month ago. The Time lords had promised them everything the Centauri had. On several conditions. One, the Narns were to hold down the Centauri, giving them permission to have only a few children each year. Two. The Narns were not under any circumstances to enter Time lord held space or even go near Earth unless it was an authorised visit. Three. If the Narns tried to attack a Time lord vessel or a person, then 4 of their planets, including homeworld would be attacked and rendered lifeless.

It was the fourth one that made them beyond delighted. If they controlled the Centauri, stopping them from rebuilding their power, then they could have the entire Republic and could do anything, provided the Time lords approved.

At first the ultimatum was refused. But then they thought about it and thought it was a good exchange.

" ENOUGH!" Screamed Liz Reynolds, the commandant temporary of Centauri prime.

" If you want to bicker, do it in your own time, not mine. You Centauri have no say in the running of your world. From now on, the Narns are in charge, but we'll not let things get out of hand like they did when you enslaved the Narns. There will be a permanent presence on Centauri Prime."

One of the nobles needed clarification. " What do you mean, permanent presence ?"

Reynolds attractive face took on a sinister smirk. " A Time lord compound will be on your planets, the idea is relatively simple. If the Narns," here she sent a warning glance at G'kar, who went rigid. " attempt to go too far in their role in occupying your planet, then the Time lord contingent will step in. this is non negotiable. The order comes from the President and the rest of the high council."

This news brought mixed feelings to both races. For the Centauri it was relief, mixed with apprehension. They knew only too well what the Narns wanted. For a century the Narns had become slaves, their people experimented on and now they were recruited by the Time lords to occupy their planets.

They had been hoping it was the Time lords, since what they tried to do to Earth was severe but the Time lords didn't seem to care. Apart from the fact that they were going to receive half of the takings.

They only prayed the Time lords would stop the Narns from going to far.

For the Narns, it was a bitter blow, but the Time lords were powerful, more powerful than the Vorlons or the ancient enemy. The Time lords had warned the Narns that they would not tolerate treachery of any kind. It was also a let down, many Narns wanted to make the Centauri pay for their many acts of kindness given to them over their 100 years of slavery.

Now, with the Time lords warning of monitoring them, they realised they couldn't get away with as much as they hoped. But, there probably was breathing room for a lot of pain in store for the arrogant species.

What worried G'kar, however, was the warnings the Time lords had given to them.

He only prayed that his people didn't go too far because whilst the Centauri had enslaved his race, they didn't have the power to convert a planet into a black hole.


	10. Chapter 10 2 years later

**Disclaimer - I don't believe Babylon 5 is mine, but that doesn't mean that I can't change and bend the rules.**

**PLEASE review my story. It would be appreciated.**

**The Lords of Time.**

**2 Years later…..**

The fall of the Centauri republic was a shocking and horrifying moment for the galaxy. It made the other races, particularly the Vorlons realise the dangers of crossing the Time lords.

For the league, it made the idea of crossing the Time lords only that much more unattractive. They had seen the images of the planets turned into black holes and the destruction of the Centauri fleets. Non of the league were advanced enough to create that form of weaponry, but they knew that the Time lords would not attack them as long as they kept out of their affairs.

For the Minbari, it was a shock, particularly the use of black holes. The Minbari were in their gravimetric age, which gave them the power to utilise black holes for an energy source. But they didn't use them for weapons. For the warrior contingent of the species on the whole, it only proved the idea the Time lords were dangerous and needed to be eradicated.

For the Vorlons, it was different. They had been waiting for a thousand years, waiting for the Shadows to return and now there were signs. The attack on the Time lord homeworld had shown that the Centauri had an alliance with them. They clearly had a knowledge of the First ones and were able to attack, destroy and convince the Shadows to leave them alone. The Vorlons had had the technology to destroy Z'ha dum all along, but they didn't because they wanted - no - needed to use the Shadows to show the other race which one was right about their ideology.

The Time lords were a threat, the Vorlons knew that and agreed one hundred percent with the Minbari warrior class that they needed to be eradicated. The Vorlons were the ones meant to stop the Shadows and prove who was right, not some unknown power.

_Earth._

Delenn, ambassador of the Minbari, was seated across from the liaison of the Time lord government. John Sheridan. They were in a plush Time lord restaurant, eating of all things, flarn.

For some reason the Time lords had selected him but she had learnt the Time lord was incredibly knowledgeable about politics and knew more about current events even better than she did.

John looked at her, his fork only an inch from his mouth. " Everything alright ?"

Surprised, the Minbari looked at her meal. it had been surprisingly good. " Yes, I hadn't expected your people to be able to cultivate flarn."

Smiling, John replied. " There is a lot you don't know about us Delenn. Our knowledge goes into horticulture with many races. Flarn is only one of them. Our diets are very….diverse."

Delenn looked troubled. " John, what is happening with the Centauri ?"

John's face became neutral. " The Narns are being difficult. They are stripping the planet of the resources, which is understandable since the Centauri did it to them over the 100 years they occupied them. They've enslaved the population of the planet, which is also expected. But they've gone for things the Centauri never did to them. They've gone for major public humiliations and the Time lord administrators have had to step in 5 times this month alone."

" But why ? Why enslave the Centauri and allow the Narn to do it ? I thought the Time lords were civilised."

At this proclamation, the Time lords sitting in the restaurant turned and looked at her, their faces impassive. But Sheridan's telepathy could pick up on the thoughts easily.

_Who does she think she is ?_

_Why is this….alien even here, telling us what we can and can't do ?_

_Stupid Minbari bitch…._

_Like her kind is any better….arrogant idiots the lot of em._

_Arrogant bitch….._

Angered by the hostility of the thoughts Sheridan shouted out in his mind for them to shut up. Delenn noticed the collective shudder that appeared on all the Time lords in the restaurant.

She looked inquisitively at John. " What was that ?"

Sheridan didn't want her to feel badly and he didn't want her to know that some of the collective arrogance of other races also appeared on Earth.

He ignored her. The last thing he wanted was her to feel that the Time lords were xenophobic. " The main reason for the Centauri being occupied in the first place is to make them realise that you don't invade a species more powerful than yourself, you don't enslave an entire species with consequences. The Centauri are going to stay like this for a long time to come."

" But surely-" Delenn tried but was interrupted.

" No Delenn, you can't say that the Centauri deserve to be forgiven. Besides, one of our people was on the Centauri homeworld and one of the first ones was involved."

Delenn winced. The Shadows returning was a state secret, but the Time lords had made sure that the Shadows realised their follies in being an opponent. The Minbari had received intelligence close to the area of space Z'ha dum was located. The were reports of major supernovas going off in that sector.

Delenn and the rest of the council had tried to ask the Time lords, discreetly, about the issue. They received no response, they were told to " drop it." As for the ship the Time lords captured, it still hadn't been released.

Delenn decided to find out what was happening with that issue, " John, about the ship that was taken.."

" Neutralised is the word you're looking for. Don't worry, the crew are safe. The ship is fine."

Delenn wasn't reassured. The council had pushed her to enquire about the welfare of the ship and the crew. Now it seemed like she was wasting her time

She only prayed certain members of the council didn't do anything stupid.

_The council cruiser - outside Minbari space._

Morann was waiting outside Dukhat's sanctum. He'd intercepted Delenn's message and when he'd found out the Time lords had no intention of letting Neroon and the others go he flew into a rage. The warrior had realised by now that their wonderful leader was in the Time lord's pocket and couldn't be persuaded to help, but that didn't mean he couldn't try.

The door opened and Dukhat stepped out into the corridor. When he saw Morann, his shoulders slumped in weariness.

" I know what you have to say, Morann, and I can say now you are wasting your time. I've just contacted the time lord council. They say the same thing, that the time to release Neroon and the cruiser is not here yet." Dukhat spoke calmly and clearly. He was hoping the idiot warrior didn't push the issue. The constant argument drove him mad.

Morann looked at him, keeping as calm as he needed to be. " But Master, the Time lords…"

" Need to respect _us, we _should control _them_, _they_ are inferior. I've heard this argument before. From you, from other members of the warrior class. I don't see any evidence to support your claims. Do we have the power to manipulate time and space, do we have teleportation, do our black hole technologies have the ability to convert a planet's core into a black hole ? No, Morann. We do not."

Morann was about to continue his argument, when Dukhat damned him even more.

" I know you ordered Neroon to spy on the Time lords, an order without my knowledge or my consent. The Time lords spent an hour going through their evidence with me. I can tell you this, push me and attack them and I will make sure your clan are dishonoured forever."

Morann stared at Dukhat stunned as the elder walked away.

_Vorlon homeworld_.

Kosh Nanarek was staring at the image on the screen in front of him, the image of the planet's core being turned into a black hole. The images of the shadow vessels destroyed. Like the rest of his race he didn't approve of the Time lords, but even so he did approve of their way of making the Shadows back off.

He'd been around for a long time. In that time he'd witnessed a lot of things, wars, planets and races born and dying over the long weary aeons. He understood the Minbari, the Narns, the Drazi and the Centauri. He understood the first ones and the laws that bound them.

But he couldn't understand the Time lords, not without meeting with one personally. Vorlons were temporally omniscient, meaning they existed in every point in the space time continuum and they could witness every little point in time. They couldn't see ALL the way into the future, oh no, they could see fragments of the future. But the Time lords….

With that particular species the sight was neigh to impossible.

Kosh was aware of the idea of destroying the Time lords and couldn't help but feel that it was a seriously bad move on the part of the High Command. The Time lords had shown themselves to have powers over time and space, technologies the Vorlons and the rest of the First ones had barely even touch upon.

He only hoped that the Vorlons didn't make a serious mistake.

_Earth._

President Rose was in a meeting with the present commander of the Centauri occupation. Morgan Clark wasn't exactly her favourite person, but he had experience and was calm and seasoned. Besides, he had experience of other races, having been a Time agent in one of his former lives.

But there was something about him…

Shaking her head in order to clear it, Rose brought forwards the issue the council had bought to her attention.

" I understand the Narns are putting forth more and more laws into operation."

Clark nodded, looking weary. " Yes. Each law is more and more oppressive even if the Centauri deserve it. The Narns remember the days of their people being forced to walk down the streets naked whilst carrying all sorts of things, Rassilon knows what. The new government are trying to fight or repeal the laws. The nobles are trying to get me and the others in the compound to stop them, so far we've convinced the Narns not to push the problems they're making."

" How are the government doing ? I can't see them working with the Narns." Rose pointed out.

" I can tell you one thing, they've not stopped their back stabbing. I've had to have the nobles dragged out of the compound more times this week than I've needed to. It doesn't help matters that the Narns enjoy provoking the Centauri."

Rose leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes as she did. " I want the Narns threatened on a daily basis. The idea of their world being turned into a black hole, or the idea of the terra reconstruction we're giving them being repealed or the atmosphere made even more uninhabitable should make them grow up."

Clark made a note on his data pad. " I'll do that the next time G'kar or Na'toth make a crack at the Centauri. Madam president, if I may…"

Rose opened her eyes. " What is it ?"

" Why are we letting the Narns and Centauri….?"

" Why are we letting the Narns and Centauri squabble, letting their people being enslaved ?"

" Yes."

Rose sighed. " 58 years ago, a timeline was shown, it showed the Narns becoming a great power, even surpassing the level the Centauri were at. The Centauri were enslaved, their planets incinerated. Experiments were performed on them daily, with their population dwindling. Eventually, the Minbari and the rest of the league were forced to work together to stop this. They failed and the Narns enslaved them as well. Eventually, the Narns reached the morality of animals."

Clark was stunned to hear this, but he still didn't understand. " But the Narns are in charge of the Centauri. We could be making that timeline reality."

" No we're not. For 3 reasons, 1, we had nothing to do with the alternate Narns become powerful. 2. We weren't even involved. 3. Without our presence, the Narns would overrun the planet, killing every single Centauri in their paths. The Narns in that timeline started to realise their mistakes and wanted to atone for them but some of the more radical they didn't. I want the Narns to grow up Clark, I want them to give the Centauri the same grievances the Centauri gave them."

Clark started to understand. " By doing that, they should see that they're no better than the Centauri." it was a fact, not a question.

" Yes. Many of the Narns on the Centauri home planet were enslaved by the Centauri and witnessed the same thing happen to their families and watched the Centauri kill them in ways a hunter would cringe at. This way, with the help of Compulsion they should see what they're going."

" Compulsion ?" Clark asked.

Compulsion was a Time lord telepathic gift enabling Time lords to put visions into the minds of others. It was against the law and could only be authorised by the president and the council. The idea of compulsion used on the Narns would be a great help in making the Narns realise what they were doing. But there was one point the Time lord didn't understand.

" I can understand the idea of using compulsion on the Narns and even the Centauri. What I want to know is why we don't use it on the Minbari ?"

" Simple," Rose said, her face thoughtful. " I haven't considered it."

Clark didn't believe it.


	11. Chapter 11 The Coming of Shadows

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Coming of Shadows.**

The races of the Galaxy were receiving reports of strange ships attacking their planets, their ships and destroying their installations. The reports spoke of strange black translucent ships, ships that shrieked in the minds, that came out of hyperspace and attacked without provocation.

The Shadows had come out of hiding.

The Vorlons and the Minbari put aside their mutual distrust of the Time lords and managed to group the league worlds together.

They met in a neutral part of space, where their differences were set aside. As they were about to begin preaching about how they should proceed, they received an unexpected surprise.

They received an unexpected guest.

A Time lord.

" What are you doing here, Time lord ?" Morann of the Minbari shouted at the figure. He was dressed in the uniform of the defence forces.

The Time lord stared at the group. " Members of the league. I am Jeffrey Sinclair and I am here because my government wish to help you fight the Shadows."

At once the members of the league stood up, shouting questions. Sinclair hadn't expected that they would do that, but he wasn't surprised. The Time lords had helped the various races with dozens of issues and problems and they owed the Time lords a debt of gratitude.

The only figures not to stand and shout questions were Morann and the two Vorlons. Delenn had stood up and was asking the questions on behalf of the Minbari, shrugging off her reticent colleague's hand and talk of dishonouring their people. How was allying themselves to the Time lords dishonouring their people ?

Sinclair held up his hands, silencing the ambassadors instantly.

" For a long time, my people have become aware, as have the Vorlons, of the return of the Shadows. Unlike the Vorlons however we have not been idle. We have already built a headquarters for the coming fight. But we must stand together - Minbari, Drazi, Abbai, Brakiri, all of us. The time for pettiness is long since past, now that the darkness has returned. Come with me. Come and join us to rid the galaxy of the influence of the Shadows forever."

The ambassadors stood up again, ignoring the Vorlons and Morann, left and followed the Time lord out of the room.

_Deep in Time lord Space._

The ambassadors had followed Sinclair through a hyper drive conduit, deep into Time lord space. The territories of the Time lords, since the fall of the Centauri were now cut off from the other races out of fear of reprisal. The small fleet of ships followed the Time lord transport ship, including the Vorlons.

Sinclair, like all other Time lords, had been raised with a disdain of the Vorlons and the Shadows, even though their history was laced with those of Lorien. The Time lords didn't really care about the conflicts of the First Ones, until now they'd learnt to tolerate the annoyances for what they were.

Morann was fuming onboard his transport, this wasn't part of the plan. The Time lords weren't supposed to even be at the conference. How could they take the place of the Vorlons and the Minbari ?

Delenn was actually delighted. The Time lords footage of the Shadow vessels which escorted the Centauri to Earth and destroying the Shadow vessels was something Delenn couldn't have hoped or wanted more.

The Vorlons were disgruntled, mostly Kosh. The Vorlon had looked at Sinclair and tried using the sight on him. The Vorlon had seen nothing, it was like mercury running off a pane of glass. Kosh wondered whether being a Time lord was more to do with an ability to manipulate time with the mind and soul than with technology.

Finally, the conduit ended. It opened up into space, revealing a planet, a green subtropical little world. There was one installation above the planet. It was a long cylinder, with large solar panels attached to the structure. Kosh found the appearance primitive, but looking at it provided images.

….._Shadow vessels attacking….._

_Minbari arguing in a conference room….._

_A Time lord bursting into what looked like flames…._

…_Kosh's own death….._

The last image made him snap out of it, gasping mentally as he did. He was going to die here ? He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to.

He was broken out of his morbid thoughts by Sinclair's voice, coming through telepathically.

" Welcome to Babylon 5."


	12. Chapter 12 The Shadow War

**I am so sorry for the delay, but I had to write this chapter in sub chapters to make it easier to write. The first part of the Shadow war is in this chapter - along with other things. Enjoy and please review.**

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Shadow War Begins.**

**The Strategy.**

Dukhat was standing on the bridge of his ship, watching the 2 new guests.

2 Time ladies, one dressed in the drab tunic of the defence forces and the other wearing a smart tunic with an unusual badge on her chest. Both of them were beautiful, one with what the Time lords called blond hair and the other brunette.

Dukhat took a deep breath. The Time lords had selected the Minbari for the assignment known only to the Time ladies on the ship. The mysterious culture had made it abundantly clear that if the Minbari and the other alliance races didn't pull their weight, the suns which their planets orbited would be transmuted into black holes. Remembering the Centauri and the way they were swiftly defeated and the fact that the Minbari prisoners were still in confinement, the other races realised that they wouldn't be able to manipulate the Time lords.

They'd shown themselves to be aloof, like the Vorlons, mysterious like the Minbari but they were more powerful than both races combined. That and the fact they'd told the ambassadors to tell their homeworlds that if they stepped one toe out of line on this they would be acing mass extinction. The other races had decided already that the Time lords were far more frightening than the Vorlons and as a result decided unanimously not to provoke them into carrying out their threats.

He glanced to his right and saw that the 3 members of the grey council that he'd brought with him were staring at the Time ladies, Delenn, Copelann and Morann. The last one was on his final warning with Dukhat, who'd decided the warrior was going to be banished from Minbar for his recklessness and stupidity, but he still kept on provoking the Time lords, who ignored him and looked down on him.

The Minbari didn't know what the assignment entailed except for several facts, the Time lords had sent two of their people on a ship without one of their conduits and the fact both Time ladies had spent a lot of time in their suite. Even now the Time lords didn't interact with others. They seemed to prefer their own company, already on Babylon 5 the Time lords kept to themselves and rarely if ever conversed with other beings.

Delenn was looking at both of the Time ladies, she knew one of them and was close friends with the dark haired Time lady. Her name was Susan Ivanova and she was a commander in the Time lord defence forces and had been a commander in the Omni fleet, now she was third in command of Babylon 5. The blond was called Talia Winters, but that was all she knew of her.

Delenn, like Dukhat, tried on many occasions to speak to the Time ladies, but they had spent the first 4 days of the mission in their suite and locked the door, only now, after 4 days did they come out.

Morann was glowering at the backs of the Time ladies, furious at the way they ordered the Minbari around like they were errand boys. But there was nothing he could do, he was on thin ice with many in his own caste and the grey council.

Copelann himself was icy compared to his fellow warrior. Like Morann, Copelann was angry that the Time lords had ordered them to undertake this assignment. But unlike the more arrogant warrior, Copelann was more curious than angry. He wondered why the Time lords had ordered 2 Time ladies on this assignment and why not use one of their own craft.

Well, he was going to find out.

Susan Ivanova looked at the swirling mass of hyperspace, lost in the beauty of the phenomenon. Hyperspace was something the Time lords had great understanding of and had found ways of manipulating with greater ability than the first ones.

She looked at Talia who was concentrating on the squashed inner dimension. Talia was a Psion, a Time lord with greater telepathic ability than other Time lords.

All Time lords were telepathic, but there were some with the ability to do even more, they were prodigies of the mental arts. Normal Time lords needed to mesh their minds with higher dimensions whilst Psions didn't need to.

Normal Time lords had a PSI level of P - 6, whilst Psions had the PSI level of P - 55+. Susan herself was P- 8, but that wasn't enough for her to be admitted into the Psion courses at the academy back home. She glanced at Talia, who was concentrating hard on hyperspace.

The Two Time ladies were involved, it wasn't against the law for Time lords or ladies of the same sex to be in a relationship. The Time lord race on the whole were above the petty little prejudices of same sex partnerships. They could even have children, using a simple genetic procedure.

_I wish they'd be quiet, I need to concentrate, _Talia spoke into Susan's mind. The brunette looked around the bridge, noting the looks on the faces of the crew. Susan turned back to her mate.

Susan grinned and responded, _I know what you mean, but do you honestly think this moronic race would listen and understand._

A mental sigh.

_You're probably right._

_I'm always right. _

A mental laugh from Talia, who spoke teasingly. _Wench._

_Tease. _

Delenn was observing the Time ladies, noticing the grins and smirks on their faces as they glanced towards one another.

Telepathy, she realised.

Just then the mood changed.

Talia held up her hand. " They are here, I can feel them," turning to one of the crewmen, she spoke. " 45 degrees to Port."

The crewman looked towards the captain, who looked at Dukhat.

" Do as she says,"

The captain gestured to the crewmember who obeyed the instruction.

Susan ignored the glowering looks from some of the crew for the aliens giving the Minbari orders. But she couldn't care less. Arrogance was a practice that many races followed with gusto.

" How close are they ?"

" Very close."

Morann had to interrupt. " Who are you talking about ?"

The Time ladies ignored him, knowing that would annoy and irritate the warrior even more, but they needed to concentrate on the matter at hand. " I can feel them, they are getting closer and closer. They can't sense me yet."

" Pull your consciousness out Talia, we don't need to spend a month looking for them again." Susan ordered.

Talia nodded. " I don't need to, they know we're here."

" Who are you talking about ?" Morann asked again. The situation was getting out of hand for the Minbari and they wanted to know what was happening, but the rest of the crew understood that patience was a virtue.

The Time ladies ignored him again, knowing the answer was approaching.

One of the crewmembers spoke up. " Captain, I'm detecting another ship, its coming on an intercept course. It isn't one of ours."

The other ship appeared almost by magic in the viewing port of the ship.

It was a Shadow vessel.

Morann panicked. " Turn us about."

" NO!" Susan shouted. " THIS is why we are here. This is our mission. Talia," She added, turning towards the blond.

" Are you ready ?"

" Yes. Just."

" Good." Turning to face the Minbari, " Now listen to me, this is a Time lord operation. You will stay put in this area, or your planet becomes a cinder hanging in space." Her tone of voice said she was being deathly serious.

The crew believed her.

" The real reason you are here is so then you can see that the Shadows are weak, pathetic and easy to disrupt. This is the answer to the question, the question of how to defeat the Shadows. Are you really going to run like a pack of useless cowards ?"

Susan turned away from them, nonchalant about their reactions. " Talia, are you ready ?"

The blond telepath nodded. " Yes."

" Alright. Now."

At first the Minbari wondered why the Shadow vessel suddenly halted in its tracks, then it started to shake, almost like it was cold….or afraid.

Delenn realised what was happening just like Dukhat. The Shadow vessels were controlled by a living organism that took the place of central operating system. Could it be that telepathy could somehow neutralise it ?

Suddenly she could see the mission the Time lords had given them.

The Time lords had taken the role of teacher and was simply giving them a push in the right direction. It was similar to the methods of the Vorlons, but the Vorlons would've simply played a guessing game with them and manipulated their thoughts.

The method the Time lords had used was infinitely superior, they were giving a demonstration, the method of use.

Talia was concentrating hard, but unlike telepaths from other races, she was finding this really simple. Other races forgot the fact that distance could be forgotten easily, the environment of hyperspace was making the job even easier.

There was something about hyperspace that made telepathy even easier without needing to tap into the higher dimensions. The distance problem which baffled other races was quickly solved by the Time lords mental disciplines. If you were a distance away from an object, how would you get closer ?

By walking close to it, or by riding a bicycle. The Time lords had solved the problem by creating a simple solution - simply forget the distance. The telepath, in this case, Talia Winters was simply folding the distance using her mind alone.

She could feel the Shadow vessel, feel the unfortunate creature inside. The feeling was of something old, withered, rotten….

Talia decided to torture the thing a little. She simulated the hand of her mind closing over the shadow vessel, the hand wearing a metallic glove with little needles, each one white hot and sharpened so it could cut through diamond. With the power of the mind, anything was possible.

She then simulated the sound a sonic screwdriver made and made it louder and louder, until it was capable of shattering asteroids.

The Shadow vessel was screaming in agony, as it was trying to escape. Talia simulated an electric shock going above 30 trillion volts and sent it coursing through the Shadow battleship. The ship screamed louder and louder, but then she directed the mental charge straight into the already burnt out corpse of the central operation system.

To the Minbari, the Ship was shaking in pain and fear, they could hear the screams in their minds. What ever the blond Time lady was doing, she was doing a good job of it.

Then the Shadow vessel seemed to….wither and die.

The debris started to drift away….

Talia broke herself out of the trance she was in. Susan was by her side instantly, " Are you alright ?"

The blond took a deep breath, " More or less. I shocked the ship with a mental charge or simulated electricity. Nothing like a good shock to the system. I even burnt out the operating system. No problems, but I'm dubious about the other races abilities. They don't have our superior knowledge and training, especially in forgetting distance and control."

Susan nodded, " Not our problem at the moment, but we'd better start on our reports."

" Right," Talia and Susan turned to leave the bridge, only to be blocked.

Morann had decided to reign in control even though he was out of his league. " You are not leaving until you tell us what you are doing."

" Get out of the way."

" Now, listen here…" Morann didn't finish when Susan made a sharp sweeping gesture with both her hands and walked out of the bridge. She did all this without making a sound or even touching the Minbari.

The crew overhead her, " Stupid, primitive creature."

Talia bent down and said loud enough for the warrior and his fellows to listen. " I don't understand you, you're in a lot of trouble with your pathetic government, your caste is close to rejecting you, you try and kill one of our own even though you're in our space and on our own planet, why the Vorlons came to your boring and simple minded race is beyond my comprehension. You are nothing special, not to us. No, your people took what the Vorlons gave you and you didn't bother coming up with half of the technology on your own. No Time lord would ever submit to that, you call yourself a proud race, yet you accept the gifts of another race. You're like dogs, accepting scraps from its master."

The crew listened to that silently, realising it was the truth, but then the Time lady continued to speak.

" Even after all this time, all the encounters you've had, you still do not learn from your mistakes. Whilst Susan is a normal Time lady with the normal abilities, I on the other hand can cause more pain. We can both rip your mind to shreds until you think you are a little girl with a pacifier in your mouth, screaming for mommy. I don't know how to get this into that thick bone of yours but let me try - piss off and leave us alone, you microbe. That is what you and the rest of the league are to us."

Talia got up and left the room.

But one thing was for sure.

The Time lords had found a great strategy to use against the Shadows and they were going to help the others races use it.

In their quarters, Talia met up with Susan. The brunette Time lady was tensed up and irritable, which was nothing new. Talia went up and massaged her mates shoulders.

Susan moaned happily as she settled into Talia's warm embrace.

**The Attacks on The Shadows.**

"Thanks to Talia Winters and Susan Ivanova," Sheridan gestured to the two Time ladies, " We have now taught you how to fight the Shadows and we know we can help you fight them back."

Sheridan was heading up the meeting with the help of Sinclair. Sheridan gestured to a wall map in the situation room.

It showed a map of Time Lord and Shadow battle movements. The red was the Shadows and the blue the Time lords.

" For the past 3 weeks, the Omni fleets and squadrons have been attacking the Shadows, destroying their hiding grounds and ship growing facilities. An attack on Z'ha dum is being prepared with the intention of destroying the planet. The exact plan is being kept secret and is known only to the high council."

The Vorlons decided to interrupt. " No one returns from Z'ha dum."Ulkesh, the youngest of the two Vorlons said, as if the Vorlons had the right to pass judgement, the way Ulkesh said that was pure arrogant fact.

It was a fact, at least to the Vorlons.

" That is what you imagine, besides we didn't say if it would actually occur. Anyway, we don't even need to be in the same star system to destroy the planet." Sheridan replied.

Sinclair took over, changing the subject. " We know that in 3 days, the Shadows will have deployed a small force into this sector," he pointed to a point on the map. " We intend to destroy it."

" The Shadows will not be expecting the attack. We have arranged for each ship to have onboard a Psion, along with a psionic amplifier. We want you to bring a minimum of 4 telepaths for each ship and woe betide anyone who thinks of making excuses."

Ivanova took up the discussion, " So far we've done all the work, attacking and driving the Shadows into the area we intend to mount an offensive," she nodded to the map. " We have shown you the way to defeat their ships, when the Vorlons should've done it ages ago." Here she glared at the 2 Vorlons in their midst.

" Now," finished Sheridan, " It's your turn to give something back."

" All of you have to play your part, if you don't, if any of your ships run away, the War Omni fleet will make the Shadows look like school bullies. You have debts to repay and this is good way of starting. Don't think for one minute that the war will end with this battle."

_Sector 23._

Sheridan was seated in the command chair of the lead War Omni, looking at the monitor in front of him. It showed the transponders of the different ships that were cloaked. Time lord cloaking tech was relatively simple, simply shift an object 1 second into the future and turn it off as soon as it was no longer needed.

There were no Vorlon ships - surprise surprise there - but there was a good number of ships. Many more than they'd expected or asked for really, amazing what a few well placed threats would do isn't it ?

Sheridan leaned back in his chair, thinking. He didn't like threatening people, but the league needed it, unlike the Vorlons who were content with giving tidbits and useless information in seemingly insane riddles, the Time lords were factual and informative.

That and the fact the Time lords believed in people pulling their own weight. The league had been faltering for years while the Vorlons were content to sit back. How they expected to mould them into a fighting force, Sheridan didn't know, nor did her really care.

Sheridan was shaken from his thoughts by one of his crew speaking up, " Sir, hyperspace distortion in sector, hyper spatial phasing in progress."

Hyperspatial phasing….the Shadows.

" Alert the fleet," Sheridan was in full warrior mode. " Shut down temporal shroud on fleet."

" Standby weapons, activate full jammers. I don't want them leaving."

" Activate full psionic amplifiers, maximum intensity."

The Shadows jumped into the region of space. They were taken by surprise by the fleet appearing out of nowhere. The mind of the Shadows, which deployed the fleet positions, like a seasoned chess player moving the pieces. The mind of the Shadows had taken a nasty blow when the Time lords did their testing in hyperspace and the Shadows were hoping they wouldn't be encountering the species again.

The Shadows tried to jump back into hyperspace but they found they couldn't, they also started to feel something they feared and hated above all else.

Telepathy.

As the outer ships started to feel the effects, the Shadows started firing on the War Omnis and the League ships, the slicer beams shattering some of the ships and making barely a dent on the war Omnis, not that it did much good.

On the League ships, the pisons were concentrating hard, their bodyguards keeping an eye on the battle and the other on the aliens.

Morann was in the tactical centre of one of the cruisers, trying to concentrate on the battle and trying not to think of the Time lord telepath in one of the rooms, with 3 other Minbari telepaths.

He was in his element, battle was the way of life obviously for a Minbari warrior. But he didn't like being on a leash by another power.

The Shadows were divided, the telepaths were putting a lot of pressure on them. It sounded like the entire galaxy was shouting at them, not that it mattered.

The mind of the Shadows was reeling, the telepaths were making it exceedingly hard for the mind to concentrate on the battle. The constant pressure made the Mind make numerous mistakes, costing the mind and the Shadows time and ships.

The War Omni's were a devastating force, Morann had to concede. The Shadows were being decimated with time torpedoes and other weapons. The league was providing a good attack as well, but their abilities were nothing compared to their Time lord allies.

It wasn't long before the Shadows were almost destroyed. Their ships were bleeding a curious red substance that resembled blood.

After only 20 minutes, the Shadow fleet was virtually annihilated and there were no survivors. All around the fleet was the debris of the Shadow vessels.

The Time lord alliance was triumphant. The Shadows were in retreat for the first time in a thousand years. But the alliance still had a long way to go.

_2 weeks later…_

Sector 89 was an area of deserted planets with no atmospheres and little resources. The conditions in this area made it impossible for life to flourish.

But it was possible to build things here.

It was the environmental conditions that made the area ideal to construct the bulk of the Shadow fleet. The ships were grown from cells of the shadows own bodies, they were grown in vats, moulded and genetically enhanced with the interface between the organic being for the central operations system.

There was a small squadron that protected the hatcheries from the attacks of other peoples. But that didn't mean they were defended from the Time Lords.

The war Omni's appeared out of no where, surrounding the squadron of Shadow vessels and battering them with telepathic attacks and vortex lances.

But it was the planetary attack that was vicious, one of the war Omni's was fitted with a matter compressor and crushed the planet to the size of an atom. After the Time lords left, the Shadows arrived. But that didn't mean they were safe. The solar system itself was then destroyed. The Time lords had transmuted the sun into iron, making the star go nova.

The Shadows had lost something important and would cost them dearly.

_Z'ha Dum._

The planet of Z'ha dum may have looked deserted and barren, but that didn't mean the planet and system was not inhabited. The Shadows were preparing to evacuate the planet if it was needed. The Shadows had already lost one third of their forces to the Time lords -including one of their planet killers, their allies most notably the Drakh were being hunted down and destroyed.

Normally the Shadows wouldn't be concerned about a possible assault on their planet, their planet was defended by ancient traps that would destroy or cripple even a Vorlon planet killer, the planet had a telepathic grid that enabled them to lull any nearby vessels and drag them down willingly to their deaths.

Even the Vorlons and the rest of the First ones kept away, knowing what was good for them.

But the Time lords…..

They were an unknown factor and one the Shadows could not fight back like they could effectively with the first ones.

The Shadows prided themselves on being a race that could sense danger but in this case they were taken completely by surprise.

The war Omni's appeared from nowhere, their psionic amplifiers shrieking pure agony into the hive mind of the Shadows control.

One of the war Omni's fired what looked like a missile, which glowed green, at the planet. The missile seemed to jump towards the planet and vanished in a flash of light.

The Shadows were fearful, not knowing what the missile would do to their ancestral home, but they did know it was not going to be good.

The planet seemed to shake, no shudder, as the missile, whatever it was, did its job.

The Shadow mind on the planet detected incredibly strong seismic disturbances from the tectonic plates on the northern continent. The planet seemed to be falling apart, no it was falling apart.

On the lead war Omni, the force leader looked on the monitor, feeling satisfaction seep through his being through the ancient calm of his race.

His second in command approached, her long red hair glistening in the dim light of the bridge, " Sir, the Shadows are sending for reinforcements."

The captain grunted, " Order all Omni's to destroy any and all Shadow vessels, order a Time wave to be detonated."

The second in command breathed in deeply. But she held in the urge to - what - question - protest - what ?

But she held it all in, hiding it beneath her Time lady calm and mental discipline.

" Aye Sir," She said, saluting and giving the order.

The surviving Shadow vessels fired their useless weapons at the War Omni's, their planet was cracking up in a lifeless heap of rock, their ships were being destroyed on a massive level. Worse, the Shadow mind was compromised with agony, leaving the ships in primal mode.

The mind both controlled and stabilised the ships, giving them purpose and power. Without it, the ships were animalistic and violent. Which is exactly what they were right now, for all the good it did.

The still intelligent part of the Shadow vessels saw the War Omni's group themselves in a circle and hold position.

Then they started to spin, round and round, faster and faster. They were glowing with the energy of the Time vortex the ancestors of their crews created. The energy built up and up, the spinning in their gravity bubbles creating the momentum they needed.

Suddenly, a series of blue energy waves swept through them, radiating outwards. The Shadows vessels, those too far gone into their insanity, not recognising the danger came closer. They were the first to be destroyed, their bodies saturating the artron energy of the vortex and were incinerated alive. Their brother ships heard the shrieks of pain and fear and they tried to flee, but they were too late. Had waited too late.

The wave passed through them reducing each and every one of the surviving ships to atoms. The Time lords decided their job here was done, Z'ha dum was virtually destroyed, the Shadows hive mind was in chaos and finally, they'd achieved what they wanted.

They had proved to the Shadows the Time lords were their number one enemy, not the foolish benighted Vorlons.

The War Omni's dematerialised, leaving one, which let out another wave, this one red. It radiated outwards from the time machine. There was a strange effect of the wave, it seemed to…ripple through space, crackling the hyperspace sector Z'ha dum was located in. After a long 2 minutes, the remaining Omni dematerialised.

It wasn't until a good 5 hours later that the Shadows realised what had happened, the first ship tried to phase out of hyperspace, only to be pushed back. The Shadow mind, almost fully recovered from the Time lords assault, was puzzled. What was happening now ?

The mind ordered the ships to scan hyperspace and the threshold that bordered hyperspace and normal reality. Only to discover that hyperspace was…damaged for a radius of one light year.

The Time lords had destroyed the threshold forever, now the Shadows would have no choice but to be delayed by a factor of a few hours trying to reach an area where the threshold was intact. That was something the Shadows could not believe. But it lead to another realisation.

The Time lords were indeed the masters of time and space. It wasn't a rumour or an idle boast.

It was the truth.

**Death of a Vorlon.**

" Here's to a swift end to the Shadow war," Jeffrey Sinclair proclaimed to his friends and fellow officers, holding up a glass of one of the finest wines the Time lord race could offer.

" Here here," The other Time lords chanted.

Stephen Franklin, the medical chief, took a swig and turned to face Ivanova, " I hear the attack on Z'ha dum went well."

Susan smirked, " It did. The Shadows now have no choice but to go the long way to find a way into hyperspace. Its either that or travel for thousands of years to the nearest inhabited system."

Garibaldi chipped in, " How long will the war last do you think ?"

Sheridan looked thoughtful, " I think it will be a short war, say a year."

" Why that long ?"

" Don't forget that we still have the first ones to deal with and the other plans of the high council to implement. Getting rid of the Vorlons and the Shadows and dealing with the pathetic ideologies they both have. Then there is the league. After the Vorlon have gone, what will happen then do you think ?"

Susan nodded, " I see your point."

Franklin looked around the other faces, " We all do."

Sheridan looked around the faces as well, " I only pray the Shadows don't make things difficult for us. We can't predict every action of different races."

They all agreed with that.

The following weeks were taken up by the amount of attacks and raids on the Shadows and Shadow controlled space. The Time lords had even provided a way to track the Shadow vessels down in hyperspace and gave the league worlds access to some of their telepathic knowledge, not to mention giving them psionic amplifiers.

The Time lords also noticed the absence of the Vorlons but they weren't overly worried - the Time lords were aware the Vorlons had the power to look into the past or the future just by looking at a person, but since they couldn't do it with the Time lords because of the mental slowing of time, they weren't really bothered.

All the league worlds noticed that even though the Time lords were fighting the Shadows the enemy was not attacking any world in their commonwealth. Far from it, they were going out of their way to avoid the Time lords.

It didn't matter.

The war also saw the use of the Time lords more powerful weapons - the time wave was used quite often, killing dozens of Shadow vessels and the use of the time torpedoes were enough to reduce the enemy fleet in numbers.

Other weapons included the use of black hole and oblivion continuum missiles and bombs at planet where the Shadows were growing their fleet.

Telepathic weapons were also used, latching onto the Shadow vessels like viruses and slowly killing and torturing the Shadow mind with all sorts of suffering. The Time lords were giving the Shadows a lot of trouble in many areas. The fleet building was being slowed, many of their worlds were destroyed by black hole weapons and supernovae were being set off, reducing planets and solar systems to dust.

The Minbari were also scoring some good victories, along with the other races, but they had nothing on their Time lord allies. They were only able to bomb planets with mass drivers and anti matter weapons and not with supernovas and black hole weapons.

Once or twice the Minbari lost a battle and had to rely on the aid of other races. It was galling to say the least, the Minbari were still a proud race even after all the humiliating actions Morann had suffered at the hands of the Time lords.

The one race that had not bothered to intervene or even help was the Vorlons - the Time lords had used this to their advantage. They spent a lot of time spreading hints and showing them aspects of Vorlon history to the rest of the league.

They were surprised and yet disappointed by the idea the god like beings were capable of levelling planets just because they didn't follow the doctrine of the Vorlons.

The Time lords were achieving one of their goals and thankfully the Vorlons were helping.

The Vorlons were making it too easy for the Time lords to spread distrust, the Time lords didn't care about the Vorlons and what they wanted. There were some amongst the League who still had some faith in the Vorlons, but the problem was the old race was still not sending any ships to the frontlines. They just sat back and let the other races do the dirty work.

The Shadows retaliated.

A lone Time lord city ship was cruising close to the rim when the Shadows attacked. 50 ships - the enemy had learnt the Time lords were by this point even more powerful than them, they simply wanted to overwhelm the Time lords - circled around the City ship, only to encounter the psionic wave the ship put out.

The Shadow vessels were immobilised, and the Time lord ship shot out 50 glowing green balls of energy. The balls surrounded each and every one of the ships.

Then the ships….disintegrated.

The Time lords had won again.

_The frontline. _

The three Minbari ships - the Dogoto, the Solaris and the Enfili, were patrolling the sector of space the Time lords had sent them to investigate. The Time lords had made it immensely clear they were not doing all the fighting, so they arranged for small groups of ships to engage the enemy, assess the strengths and order another group of ships, in this case the White stars into action.

The captain of the lead ship, Shakrat, was standing, hands folded in the tactical sector, watching the holographic scene. There was nothing.

His second in command walked up behind him.

" Anything yet sir ?" Rastenn asked quietly.

Shakrat looked at him impassively for a moment, then gestured at the holograph, " See for yourself, my friend. The Time lords send us here, but there is nothing here to fight."

" The Time lords could be wrong," Rastenn pointed out.

They both knew that would be the day, the Time lords were never wrong.

Just then the bridge called down, " Captain sir, hyperspace distortion detected. Putting image and sensor data down to holograph now."

Instantly, the view changed….showing 5 Shadow vessels.

Shakrat paused, watching the ships with a veteran commander's eye. He was puzzled by the number of ships and what they were doing here.

His first officer commented aloud on the size of the squadron, " Why only 5 ships ? They could be a scouting party, with a larger armada in hyperspace."

Shakrat had already considered that, and agreed. It would be a tactical move for a larger group to hide whilst a smaller group spied on the sector of space.

" Bridge, charge weapons. Prepare fighters."

" Aye sir."

The Minbari closed on the Shadows, who by then had observed the approaching enemy. The sight of a Minbari cruiser was enough to terrify more primitive races, but to the Shadows the Minbari were nothing more than annoying pests that needed to be squashed.

The Shadows opened fire, the deadly slicer beam crippling the Enfili and destroying a good third of the ship, the next hit destroyed it. Shadow fighters started destroying the Minbari fighters.

" Activate telepaths." Shakrat ordered, " Bridge, order the White stars in, we need them"

Instantly, the shadow vessels halted, allowing the Minbari to do their work. They opened fire on the Shadow vessel, firing continuous beams and holding the ships in hot beams of energy. They were helped eventually when a jump point opened and a good 40 White star vessels came streaming out, their birdlike bodies glistening, prepped and ready for battle.

They fired on the Shadow vessels, four to each ship, helping the older Sharlin's in their work and clearing up the real mess.

All the ships were destroyed and the Minbari knew they'd won a fight without the aid of their allies.

_Babylon 5. _

Babylon 5 space was located deep in Time lord space, with dozens of sensor relays crisscrossing over 50,000 light years. The Time lords had located the station incredibly carefully. The station was near a very large asteroid field, with mines that could split a planet in pieces inside.

The Time lords also had a wide variety of star ships nearby to protect the station. Time lord space fleets were diverse with dozens of types of ship - the time frigates, the black hole carriers and the reality bombers - ships that could wipe a planet, race, or technology out instantly without resorting to the primitive planet killers the Vorlons and Shadows used. Surrounding the station were attack ships, vessels that were more than a match for the White star vessels used by the Minbari, they resembled birds i.e hawks and were equipped with incredibly powerful weapons.

Whilst the war Omni fleets were used by on the frontlines, the other ships bombed, protected and explored the universe. Universal exploration was still a major role for the Time lords. So the fleet the other races witnessed and observed were only the tip of the iceberg.

Ambassador Delenn was looking out of a viewing port on the observation deck at the ships. She remembered the beauty and grace of the city ship she'd seen with the grey council the day they first made contact with the Time lords. These ships were just as graceful, just as powerful.

Just as dangerous.

" Penny for your thoughts ?" A voice spoke from behind her.

Delenn turned round and saw the speaker. It was Jeffrey Sinclair.

Even though she knew he was Valen, he didn't look anything like him, or even sounded like him. He was tall, taller than Sheridan and more thinner even though his body gave the appearance of intense compact power. His face was sharper featured and his hair was a…dark blond, the Time lord database called it.

Delenn smiled, " You could say that," even after all this time she was still studying the customs and sayings of the Time lords, " I was just looking at the fleet of ships nearby."

" And ?" Sinclair folded his long arms.

Delenn was thoughtful, " I remember seeing a city ship when our peoples first made contact. I was…awed. Not even the Vorlons have ships that beautiful."

Sinclair smirked, " No they do not. The Vorlons use organic technology, but they don't manipulate the tech to be more…diverse and show creativity. Then again, they don't have any creativity."

Delenn nodded, knowing he was right. Even though it pained her to admit it.

Their conversation was broken by a call from command and control.

" C in c to Commander Sinclair."

" Sinclair. Go."

" There is a hyperspace signature in one of the Vorlon quarters."

That was when the first direct hit came.

_Green sector._

Ambassador Kosh was meditating privately in his quarters. The rooms he and Ulkesh owned were bare and Spartan with their atmospheres the same as those of their home planet.

There was little for the old Vorlon to do in these rooms except meditate.

The war was going very badly for the Vorlons, the Time lords were spreading blasphemy of them to the other races but there was little they could do. It was not yet time for the Vorlons to intervene in the conflict, but Kosh was dubious about the idea that once they showed the other races the Vorlon empire had not abandoned them and they could go back to how it was before the war began.

Kosh could see it was too late. The Time lords had told the other races exactly what the Vorlons had done in the past and he wasn't happy about that.

He didn't have time to think as he sensed…._something_ behind him. Turning, he felt his heart go cold as he saw 3 Shadows phasing back into normal reality.

It was then he felt the station shake….

_Command and Control._

" Where did they come from ?" Ivanova asked Corwin. The younger Time lord studied his instruments, " They just jumped in from somewhere. I think they used one of our conduits to come in undetected."

Susan made a mental note to thank the hub operators for letting their enemies in so easily.

" Report !" Sheridan's voice echoed behind her. Turning she saw the man himself coming into the room and looking around him.

" The Shadows are in the area, they came in using one of our conduits."

Sheridan nodded, processing the news. " Are the fighters out ?"

" Fighters, attack ships the lot, it's a big fleet."

" Its getting bigger," Corwin shouted over the alarms. " One of their planet killers are here, along with the remainder of their Drakh forces."

" Damn, Susan send a message home and order the entire 56th Omni fleet in -"

" Already done, I also included the 57th."

Sheridan nodded, glad the Time lady had been thinking. " Order all of the time torpedoes used. Also included the reality bombers."

" Right, I'll also use a time destructor if needed." Susan said with a shaky smile.

" Get one ready. I want that planet killer wiped out." Sheridan didn't take the joke.

Susan nodded and got everything right and ready. The time destructor joke had been half hearted and she knew Sheridan would order it used.

They'd just destroyed a good third of the fleet when they suddenly withdrew.

Susan looked at Corwin, who was just as surprised. " What…where did they go ?"

Sinclair came over. " They wouldn't just leave…not unless…."

Susan finished for him, her voice quiet. " …unless…they weren't after us."

Sinclair looked at Corwin, " Didn't you say there was a hyper spatial signal in the green sector ?"

Corwin nodded. " It was small and barely noticeable yet it was there. Then the Shadows just appeared and launched the attack."

" What part of green sector ?"

_Green Sector._

In the mistiness of Ambassador Kosh's quarters, the old Vorlon, one of the oldest Vorlons in history was no more, the encounter suit the Vorlon had worn for countless aeons was a pile of scrap, the polymers that bound the suit and the chain mail that had surrounded it was a pile of rubbish.

There had been a flash of light as the energy of the Vorlon had been released, the Shadows had been forced to withdraw as Ulkesh had entered, sensing the pain his fellow Vorlon had been doing through. He had managed to capture the essence of Kosh, but that was a small part not the whole. The rest was dead.

As Ulkesh looked over the remains, he knew one thing.

The Time lords were going to pay for this. Kosh had been one of the older of their race, one of the most revered, now he was dead. One way or another, the Time lords would pay until they screamed for forgiveness.

It was a grave time for the Vorlon race.

**The End and the beginning for a Time lord.**

" YOU LET HIM DIE, TIME LORD ! YOU LET HIM DIE ! HOW CAN YOU LEAD US IF YOU CANNOT EVEN PROTECT US ?"

Morann was enjoying this, for the first time in the alliance with the Time lords he was going to make them see how inferior they were.

The entire league was in the room, some of them shared the same thoughts as the reticent Minbari warrior, but he was alone since many of the league were still afraid of the power the Time lords wielded.

As for the Time lords themselves, they were composed. Sinclair, Sheridan, Ivanova, Franklin and Garibaldi were sitting in their seats, watching the Minbari shout at them.

It was a minor inconvenience that Kosh was dead, but since the Vorlons on the whole had not bothered to help then it was their own fault. The other Vorlon himself was gone, he'd just….left. Without a word. The Time lords knew that the Vorlons would be back, regardless of the cost.

As Morann shouted himself hoarse, he noticed with renewed fury the objects of his ire were not even listening he was furious.

" Why do you not argue back, do you feel no remorse for the death of one of the oldest life forms in the galaxy ?"

The other Minbari in the room - Lennier, Dukhat and Delenn were at that moment wishing the warrior would shut up. They wanted answers just like everyone else but they couldn't see how shouting at the Time lords was going to help in that.

Sinclair stood up and Morann was rendered silent. If he thought the Time lord would admit to be incompetent, that the ambassadors would not be kept safe, then he was disappointed.

" The Shadows were able to breach our security by using one of our own hyperspace hubs against us. There was a fault with the sensor array of the hub. Each one of the hyperspace hubs have a sensor that records the ship - or ships in this case - and records them in a sensor web which is recorded on Earth and on our other worlds. The fault has been repaired and there are now guard ships arranged."

Sinclair paused, getting his thoughts arranged for the next point the was about to make, " As for Ambassador Kosh, we have already sent an apology to the Vorlon government. Whether they accept it or not is not our concern. Our policy of the first ones is very clear - they have no rights amongst our people. Besides, they made one request. They asked Kosh's remains and everything he owned to be placed inside his transport, we did this morning. The transport went into the sun in this solar system."

The Drazi ambassador spoke up. " What do you mean, the ship committed suicide ?"

Ivanova explained, " Vorlon technology in this case matches Time lord technology exactly. We Time lords form a link with our individual Omni's, but the Vorlon practice is more direct. If the ship dies, the Vorlon dies and vice versa. Kosh's transport committed suicide because it couldn't take the death of its owner."

The other ambassadors absorbed the news but Morann was still angry, now he was angry at the league.

" What is the matter with all of you ? The Time lords will lead all of us to our deaths ? We, the Minbari, should be the ones to lead you into battle. Just like we did a thousand years ago."

The Gaim Ambassador made a point that could not be refuted. " Were the Time lords involved in that war ? Did they provide us with the means of immobilising the Shadow vessels ? Were the Vorlons just giving us basic information ? The Time lords have given us general assistance, sent war Omni's to our planets and given our peoples technologies we need. They are re terraforming planets like Narn for instance. Did your precious Vorlons give us any of that ? No. What have the Vorlons given us ? Very little."

Morann glared at the encounter suited insectoid and turned to glare at Sinclair.

" You've done this Time lord." he said quietly.

Without clarifying what he meant he drew something from one of his pockets and faster than the Time lords could react, he drew the weapon - a PPG and fired two hits into Sinclair's chest.

The Time lord shuddered at the impact and collapsed. The league stood up and were panicking while the Time lord soldiers reacted and tackled the Minbari to the ground, strapping immobiliser bracelets on him and paralysing his nervous system slightly.

Franklin took out his pocket med scanner as Garibaldi took out his staser and pointed it at the league in case they did something. Ivanova and Sheridan held Sinclair as he lay thrashing slightly in agony.

Franklin frowned. " I can't do anything, the PPG blasts hit him close to the heart. There is only one hope for him."

The other Time lords nodded and let go of Sinclair. Delenn came over and Garibaldi took her gently but firmly by the shoulders and pushed her away.

" You can't just let him die." She shouted in disbelief. What was wrong with these people ?

Ivanova came over and took Delenn by the shoulders and turned to the league. " Sinclair will recover. But to do that he needs to regenerate. This body is dying, but he will be reborn."

" What do you mean, reborn ?"

" He's dying, how can he recover ?"

The Time lords ignored the questions as Sinclair held up his hand. The others couldn't see the reason until a moment later, the hand started glowing a golden colour.

Franklin activated his comlink, " Franklin to medlab, prep the post regeneration therapy equipment and the zero room."

Garibaldi also activated his own comlink, " Garibaldi to security, prepare the cell bay, prepare to receive a Minbari prisoner. Use a transmat to beam him there. Keep him under heavy guard and prepare to send a security team to the battle room, and what ever you do don't let any_**one**_ any_**where**_ _**near**_ the med lab. I have a regenerating Time lord here and I wanna protect him. Clear ?"

Sinclair was just picking himself up whilst the Time lords were getting everyone away from him. Susan looked at her friend, letting some tears leak from her eyes, her Time lady composure slipping.

Regeneration was a very…taboo subject for the Time lords. Letting even one of their people regenerate in the presence of outsiders was almost sacrilege.

But in this case, there was no other alternative. Sheridan and the others would've preferred for Sinclair to die and regenerate inside his Omni which was stowed on the hanger decks. The Omni, linked to Sinclair, would be able to capture his mind and let the body settle down before letting him recover enough for the mind to be downloaded into the body.

The atmosphere seemed to be getting hot with the energy radiating from the ailing Time lord. He threw his head and hands back, letting the process take its natural course.

The other Time lords averted their eyes, there was something almost unnatural and wrong when looking at a Time lord regenerate, but to the aliens it almost looked like he was on fire.

Suddenly it ended and Sinclair dropped to the ground like a chopped tree, Sheridan and Garibaldi jumped over to him just in time before he crashed to the ground. The other Time lords in the room formed a living barrier, stopping the alien delegates from coming to close.

Franklin came over and gently bent down, looking at the prone form in front of him. He could see that Sinclair was still breathing, that his heart was still working. Very gently, he used his hands to move Sinclair's head.

The aliens gasped.

Sinclair had changed, he was….slightly older. Did that mean he was younger ? For the aliens, all Time lords seemed…ageless. Telling how old on Time lord was immensely tricky, one might be 400 years old, another only 10 years old.

He had a handsome face, with dark hair and Delenn gasped as she saw that NOW Sinclair had a striking resemblance to Valen.

Sinclair didn't wake up as Franklin examined him with his scanner. As he examined the readings the doors to the war room opened and 4 Time lords - 2 nurses and 2 security officers came running in. Franklin helped the nurses pick him up and put him on the stretcher.

He gave them orders as he did, " He regenerated 3 minutes ago, that means his body is burning with energy with a good mix of hormones and body acids. Did you get the Z room ready ?"

One of the nurses replied, " Yes, its waiting. There is a full energy drainer ready as well as a good cup of tea."

Franklin grinned as the nurses wheeled the stretcher to medlab. Regeneration was a traumatic experience for people to say nothing about it being done the first time. The body might look relatively fit and healthy, but it was the mind and the brain that told a totally different story. There was the synapses and dendrites to heal with time, but recent research - over 400 years in the past - said that tea, a popular drink with the Time lords, could heal the dendrites and synapses with no trouble because of the super heated radicals and tannin.

Franklin shook his head, " No, this was a truly violent regeneration. I want the body and mind to settle for a good few hours before I do that."

The nurses accepted that, realising he was right.

As they got him in the medlab, Franklin didn't stop until he was wheeled in a room inside.

Zero rooms were basically insulated pocket dimensions. Every Time lord facility and Omni had one, they were used mostly for healing Time lords who'd suffered incredible trauma, such as during a regeneration.

There was nothing in the room, it was completely sterile and barren - they were uncomplicated and simple. There wasn't even a bed. As soon as the door closed, Sinclair woke up.

He looked around, squinting his eyes from the pain he was still feeling. " What happened ?" he asked before slapping his hand over his mouth. Then he looked at his at his hands and started feeling his face, his expression becoming more alarmed and frightened.

" I haven't-" he gulped, looking at Stephen, frightened. " Tell me, please, tell me I haven't…re….re…reg-" he couldn't' finish the word.

" Regenerated ? Yes, it happened Jeff, you were lucky. You could've been killed by the PPG, never mind the regeneration." Franklin said, looking at his friend and commanding officer with sympathy.

Sinclair looked around, recognising the Zero room for what it was. Franklin looked at him, noting that he was settling into his new incarnation despite the incredible trauma he'd undergone.

It was 2 hours later that Sinclair had his first visit. Delenn had tried to gain access to the medlab but the security officers kept denying her entrance to the lab, they said that no one was allowed in there, that it was a top priority not to let anyone, Time lord or alien come inside.

Sheridan was coming down the corridor whilst Delenn was trying to argue her way past, the frazzled security officer looked up with relief.

" Commander, please tell the ambassador I cannot let her inside the medlab." he asked wearily. Sheridan nodded.

Delenn was just about to argue, when Sheridan grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the lab.

" John, why did you take me away ? I was about to - " She was interrupted.

"…get yourself arrested, ambassador or not. Delenn, Sinclair has just been subjected to something we never speak of to outsiders, now the entire station knows about it. Morann has already received an extradition order by the High council and they will be taking him back to Earth for execution."

Delenn looked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing, " But, the grey council - "

" Can do nothing. Delenn the council has no say, the High council of the Time lords have ordered the death of Morann. You don't understand, when a Time lord is killed by an outsider and forced to regenerate, the outsider is executed, it's a law that has existed for millions of years for our race." Sheridan said trying to get the Minbari woman to realise there was nothing she and her people could do.

He decided to let her know just how grave the situation truly was. _The Minbari were going to be faced with the dilemma soon, might as well make it clearer, _Sheridan thought to himself.

" Delenn, what do you think will happen to Minbar or one of your other planets if you protest Morann's extradition and later execution ? I'll tell you, the Time lords do not like it when outsiders believe they have the right to dictate policies to us that barely work with their own people. Morann has tried to interfere in Time lord affairs ever since he tried to kill that technician during first contact between our peoples, he authorised spying missions during the war we had with the Centauri, he tried interfering in Talia and Susan's mission 4 months ago and now he is guilty of killing a Time lord and forcing the Time lord to lose a life."

Sheridan took a deep breath and then carried on. He had to get her to understand just how serious this was.

" Delenn, if your people interfere, try to rescue Morann…..then a good number of your planets will probably be destroyed. Or worse."

Delenn stared at the Time lord in front of her, unable and unwilling to believe the Time lords or anyone else could be so destructive.

" John…" She couldn't finish. The memories of the way the planets in the Centauri republic had been destroyed, converted into black holes was still a horrific image. Delenn couldn't believe anyone could do that, but she knew in her heart the Time lords would do it.

_Omni 902._

President Rose Asher was sitting inside her Omni as she was meditating on the recent events. The attack on Babylon 5 was one thing, but the forced and brutal regeneration forced on Jeffrey Sinclair….

She would have been foolish if she hadn't expected Morann to go too far. The arrogant Minbari warrior had always hated the Time lords and everything about them and all they stood for. Rose sighed, thinking about all the hell that was going to be awaiting her. Rose didn't give a damn about the Minbari, if they interfered even slightly she would forget the alliance, shaky as it was, and annihilate the Minbari people once and for all.

The Time lords were out in the open and were known to every race in the galaxy, the Shadows were running away from the, which was good, but the Minbari…

Rose's face creased into a scowl as she thought about the Minbari. She knew that they would be protesting the execution of Morann but it was too late. The rule was outsiders were to be extradited to the Time lord homeworld for trial and execution, but Rose wanted this one to be on Babylon 5, where it would be broadcast to Minbar and every one of their holdings.

She wanted to make it clear that no dissent would be tolerated.

There was another reason for her going to the station. She wanted to bring Jeffrey Sinclair, who was almost fully recovered from his regeneration, back to Earth and deal with the paradox of Valen and get it out of the way.

_Babylon 5_.

Franklin was sitting in his office doing paperwork when Sheridan came in and sat down nearby. Franklin looked up and his weariness was there for Sheridan to see.

" What is it ?" He asked, mentally checking the time. It was 5 in the morning.

" How is Sinclair ?" Sheridan asked without preamble.

" He's almost recovered. He'll be drinking some tea in the morning." Franklin said, rubbing his eyes.

" So the Zero treatment has worked ?" Sheridan knew that zero treatment was a tried and true method of recovery for regeneration and knew the question was irrelevant.

" Yeah, it always does." Franklin got up and waited for the commander to tell him why he was here.

He didn't have to wait for long.

" Is he fit to travel ?"

Franklin paused in his inputting the data on his padd into the database and turned around slightly to face Sheridan.

" More or less, he needs rest. But other than that he's as fit as a fiddle. Why ?"

Sheridan took a deep breath, " The president wants to take him back to Earth. She says the circle needs to be completed at last."

" Circle ?" Franklin said, a questioning frown on his face. " What do you…oh. I see. The Valen paradox is going to be finished."

Like all Time lords, Franklin was aware that Sinclair was Valen and as a Time lord he had no choice but to go back into the past and help the Shadow war be defeated.

That didn't mean he had to like his patient being forced into a war zone.

The execution was scheduled for the next day. The President was waiting in full Time lord regalia - long, red robes with gold trim. The other Time lords - Sheridan, Ivanova and Franklin were also waiting in seldom worn robes of dark blue. Only Garibaldi was not wearing the robes.

The room was large with a massive dais set up with some kind of cage with a circular top in bright red for the shoulders. A helmet in red was waiting in the hands of a human labourer.

All around were people of various races - Minbari and Drazi and others, they were all stationed outside a force field so then they couldn't intervene. They knew Morann was going to die, but they didn't understand the basics of the ritual that was going to be carried out today.

Morann was led into the room, down the aisle. It was like a human wedding ceremony, but this was not a harmonious time for anyone.

The Time lord guard took the Minbari and brought him respectively in front of the President. Rose's face was expressionless as she took a scroll out from her pocket. Unrolling it she started to read,

" By the authority vested in me by the Articles of the Time lords, written and set down by Rassilon and Omega and the Priestess," she took a deep breath as her fellow Time lords inclined their heads as a show of respect for the greatest of the first of their kind, " I, Lady president Rose Asher, do herby sentence the Minbari known as Morann to death for the numerous crimes against the Time lord people."

Rose trailed off, listing the numerous offences the Minbari was guilty of - assault on a Time lord, espionage, interfering in Time lord affairs but the worst one was the murder of Jeffrey Sinclair's first incarnation.

Sinclair was in the crowd, his face expressionless as he watched the Minbari about to face his own death. He ignored all attempts by the Minbari to grab his attention. He had nothing to say to them, so he kept his eyes on Morann.

To his credit, the reticent warrior was standing tall and proud - with the arrogance the Time lord had noticed on their first meeting.

Morann listened to the charges with no way to dispute them. The Time lords had suppressed his ability to speak and couldn't even beg for mercy or even to refute the charges. How was he to know that Sinclair would return from the dead ?

The only good thing he knew was that his people would not stand for this. Even though the Time lords had threatened his people, Morann was overly confident that they would see his death as the perfect excuse to wipe the Time lords out.

He was shaken from his thoughts as he was lead by the guards over to the cage, unable to fight back since they controlled his limbs and movement. They strapped him in and put on the helmet and shoulder guards.

As soon as they got off the platform, they started the machinery and electrical or plasma or some other form of energy started pulsing and ripping his body apart. Morann wanted to scream but he couldn't…

To the onlookers, Morann was held in the cage and the energy was ripping him apart. Suddenly, there was an explosion as the Minbari turned to dust.

That was when a large circle above started to glow. It generated a field of white silver energy, and it seemed to trap something.

It was a Minbari soul, screaming and pleading to be let go. It was sucked into the ceiling leaving only a few trace particles of sparks.

The Minbari were furious, they believed that each generation that died their souls would later be reincarnated in the next generation. The Time lords knew that and the smarter of the Minbari realised this was the Time lords way of keeping them under control.

What it meant to the future, no one knew.


	13. Chapter 13 Interlude Amelia

**Disclaimer - Don't own Babylon 5 or Doctor Who, but I do own this story. I've decided to do some interludes of famous human explorers as Time lords. I want to write about the excitement of exploration instead of war and Minbari arrogance.**

**Enjoy.**

**Lords of Time. **

**Amelia. **

Amelia Earhart looked at the beautiful purple sky, Rassilon, she could never get up enough of this.

She turned around and grinned as she took in her Omni, which was in the form and shape of a tree with gnarled branches and blue leaves.

Amelia had been travelling the universe for centuries, exploring planets and solar systems, using her Omni, which disguised as a plane, an airship, a starship with a warp drive and hyperspace drive or even a sailing ship and submarine.

Amelia had been exploring since she was a small girl, she investigated trees, mountains, hills….everything. When she'd looked into the Untempered Schism she was delighted to find the image of her as a Time lady, not looking down on the universe on the pedestal others of her people enjoyed doing, but actually travelling planets, eating strange foods - even though she could make some of the dishes herself thanks to the resources of the Omni - meeting new peoples and making friends.

As soon as she graduated, she travelled Earth, dived to the bottom of the Mariana's trench, climbed the tops of mountains like K2 and Everest, explored the Amazon rainforest, then she did the same thing with the other planets in sol and later the commonwealth.

Now, she was roaming the universe, hoarding her remaining 11 lives - Time lords had 14 lives - and travelled to new distant places.

She didn't care whether or not her people had actually come to this world. In fact, with this in mind, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and removed a PADD and checked. No, no other Time lord had been here before. She also checked the database on what was known about the planet.

It was a H - for Habitable - planet, with a beautiful atmosphere. The planet was like Eden itself, the flowers were smelling lovely, in fact Amelia could see even from where she was, ponds connected by waterfalls.

It was good being her.

_3 years later…_

A beautiful part of being a Time lady was the ability to let time pass by without even feeling it.

Amelia had been exploring the planet for 3 years, 6 months, 34 hours and 5 minutes and 10 seconds exactly, using her Omni to travel the skies and photograph the mountains, even climbing one or two of them. The last month had been spent circumnavigating the oceans of the planet and taking samples of the water and photographing the wildlife.

Amelia had a tradition where she spent the last night camping and sleeping in a tent, today was the day she left. The night had been fantastic and the night air was so good.

She took out her Omni key and opened the time ship up. Putting and stowing her stuff away, she marched to the console and started setting the controls for the next system. As the ship entered vortex, Amelia smiled as she thought about the fun and games she was going to have next.

_A week later_

" Whoooohoooooo! " Amelia screamed in joy as she leapt off the mountain, double checking the teleport bracelet on her arm. It was secure, the armour she wore was light, but strong and powerful.

Amelia had materialised on the mountainous planet a few days before and the exploration of the world was going great and now she was doing one of the things she enjoyed the most.

Jumping off mountains.

Amelia had a hot air balloon, a submersible and other bits and pieces in her Omni, but her glider with ant gravitational wings and engines was her favourite.

As she plummeted down she could feel the air in her face and closing her eyes she savoured each and every moment she spent doing things like this.

Her mother might have a heart attack for this, but she didn't care. Amelia didn't care about Time lord dignity, she was alone and enjoying her adrenaline rushes.

She was happy.

Amelia Earhart was an explorer.

A/N - What do you think ?


	14. Chapter 14 Interlude Neil Armstrong

**The Lords of Time. **

**Neil Armstrong. **

Wearing his space suit, Neil Armstrong walked across the surface of the barren, airless planet. He was only here for a brief time, so he used the time to study the planet, take samples and pictures.

He looked at the horizon and admired the landscape with its orange hues and golden light.

Like most Time lord explorers, Neil sometimes wondered why his people hardly bothered leaving their homeworld and explore the planets solo or with friends. There was something about walking over the surface of a planet, or even floating near an Omni that lifted the heart.

_Rassilon_, he thought, _I'm growing old_.

Armstrong looked at the landscape, seeing only a faint image of the reflection. He'd spent a good 560 years in his first body and he could feel that time was starting to break and wear it down. He wasn't concerned, he would regenerate and he would continue his travels for the rest of his life.

Armstrong was one of a number of Time lords who travelled time and space, never looking back on the domain his people had built for themselves. Like the others he was attracted to the life of a loner, never needing to worry about putting on robes but jackets and tunics, never needing to look at the same stars in the skies, never needing to have issues with some of the Time lords.

There were times he went home, nostalgia. But those times were few and far between, the visits only lasted a day or two whilst he usually spent a week on another planet in another galaxy. Besides, the time he spent away from home gave him the opportunity to look at the Time lords with a different view from everyone else.

The war against the Shadows….

Like the others Armstrong was aware of the conflict and hoped when it was over that there would never be any word from the First ones.

He shook himself from his thoughts and started walking back to his Omni. Usually he travelled to uninhabited moons and walk across the surfaces, collecting samples and holo photographs. He had a substantial collection already, from the Andromeda galaxy to Galaxy M89, he had millions of souvenirs from the dozens of habited worlds as well.

As he entered his Omni, he glanced at the display cases with the pieces of rock, plant, vials of water, the holos on the walls of the console room and the souvenirs on tables - a crystal piece that looked more like a sculpture, a claw from a Ziner bird ( which was 45 centimetres long, with a wicked curve ) and a holy candle from Narn.

He punched in the co-ordinates for the next planet and set a course. As the time rotor rose and fell in the engine cycle he couldn't help but wonder just what was going to be in store for him next.

He couldn't wait.

A/N What do you think ? Please leave a review.


	15. Chapter 15 Full Circle

**The Lords of Time.**

**Full Circle.**

Jeffrey Sinclair looked around the Command and Control centre of Babylon 4. It had taken a while to build with conventional materials and technology that would lift the Minbari out of the pre Gravimetric age and into a true gravimetric age.

It hadn't been easy, using the precise materials and technology - the Time lords used tech that bordered almost on the magical.

The room was quiet, the workmen were busy elsewhere and there was nothing to do in this particular part of the station and so it gave Sinclair a chance to really think over the events of the recent months.

It had been a good 4 months since his regeneration, Time lords were encouraged to spend 3 months and 3 days to recover from regeneration to get used to their new incarnations and to test the new body's abilities. Sinclair found that this new life was tougher than his last body and able to take a lot of damage, even though he was afraid of taking it.

Sinclair barely remembered the regeneration, he'd been in shock, understandable because of the PPG wounds his body had taken, but what he did remember was the pain and the flash of light and the tingling of the body chemicals which allowed regeneration and made it possible as it raced through his body.

He frowned, knowing that this life was the last one he would ever have….

Sinclair pulled himself together and tried not to think about that. He resolved himself to think about the other events in the galaxy, like the fact his sister's pot roasts kept exploding.

The Shadow war was going relatively well, the Time lords were still achieving victories in places on the frontlines and now temporal weaponry was being allowed and was more common. The alliance was given temporal shielding to prevent them being erased from history altogether. Already, the Drakh had been erased from history. Deleted from the timeline altogether and now the breeding grounds of the Shadows were now being targeted.

If the plan of the War went according to plan the First ones would be banished from the galaxy forever. In truth, Sinclair was indifferent towards the ancient races and their plight.

Sinclair wondered idly what the First Ones thought of his people, but in reality he couldn't care less. The first ones were not his primary concern - Valen was.

Sinclair sighed, wishing he didn't need to go back in time especially for such a primitive and irritating race like the Minbari. But his oath as a Time lord demanded it.

He had to continue his destiny line.

His thoughts were interrupted by Liz Reynolds. The Time lady put her hand on his shoulder. " Penny for them ?"

" I was just thinking."

" About what ?"

Sinclair looked at her, his face impassive. " Everything. The fact in a few short days I'll be giving up a lot of my Time lord identity, becoming a religious figure to a race which would later produce a moron who took one of my regenerations, start a society of peace for 1000 years. Leave a legacy, a mystery…." he trailed off.

Liz remembered the time she and the president went onboard the older, gutted and battle scared Babylon 4 station and recalled easily - thanks to her Time lady memory - the conversation between her and the president. The story of Rose's great aunt and her mission to investigate Valen himself in the past.

It was clear that Sinclair had been told about the numerous Time lords - agents, Voyagers and other travellers that would encounter the Minbari hero in the past.

She only prayed it was worth it.

Liz put her hand gently on his shoulder, feeling the strong emotions emanating from him through his psychic barriers. She felt keen pity and sorrow for him.

_1 week later._

Sinclair stood in front of the orb laid on the table and pondered for a moment, a frown on his face. This was it. The point of no return.

Once again he cursed destiny and the Untempered Schism. If it wasn't for them he would be a normal Time lord with a normal career. Instead he was about to remove a good portion of his Time lord self and become one of a race that was responsible for his last regeneration. What happened to Morann and what happens to the rest of the stinking race meant nothing to him, but he knew he had no choice.

He picked up the Orb, it was light and fit easily in the palm of his hand. Closing his eyes he focused his energies and his Rassilon imprimature on the device, setting the destination time and the spatial location exactly. As soon as he was satisfied the programming was complete and accurate enough he put it down and moved to the table.

On the table was a pyramid and going over to the pyramid, he started it up. It glowed with light and…it started sending a misty substance through the air and on to one of the closest walls. For a minute, he contemplated it, knowing as soon as he left the chrysalis starting to form in a corner he would be losing so much. Then with what looked like the weight of the world he stepped into it and the chrysalis - there was no other word for it - formed over him like a pie maker rolling pastry over the fruit in the dish.

Inside the chrysalis Sinclair stood stock still as the threads bound him like a fly in a spider's web, he shivered as he felt the temperature. It was cold, ice cold, standing still he closed his eyes, focusing his mental disciplines on the issue. Using his Time lord training, he slowed down time around his body and mind.

As he stood in the chrysalis, the orb activated and flashed blue as the station went through the vortex. Outside the station, the time vortex sent out lightening bolts of energy. The inside of the vortex itself was a mixture of colours in the spectrum, mostly blues and purples. It was a maelstrom and any Time lord would tell any alien, be they Minbari, Drazi or Narn that their pathetic excuses for spacecraft wouldn't stand one minute in the vortex.

The environment was awash with temporal energy and matter would be accelerated forwards or backwards in time, maybe both. The Omnichrons of the Time lords and the other Time lord vessels, fighters, City ships, cruisers and other vessels were designed specially for traversing the vortex - their special material was mathematical in nature and as such was indestructible.

The station had none of those properties, especially since the discovery of the method used in its construction would be discovered by the Vorlons and the Minbari. Time lord policy on matters like that were very clear.

No tech trade. Besides neither race was truly trusted.

Sinclair stood in the chrysalis, unmoving for the best part of 2 months. It was more than ample time for the transformation to take place.

His genetic structure, whilst still Time lord in order and origin, became more Minbari like - his skin became more pale and smooth, the back of his now bald head started to harden and elongate, becoming more like the headbone of a Minbari.

Internal organs, muscles and bones started either augmenting or reducing in content. The acids and hormones that allowed the once Time lord the power to regenerate were reduced to allow simple cellular healing, enabling him in the future to repair his body in ways a normal Minbari could not.

His brain stayed the same, the Time lord intellect remaining constant, but it was the symbiotic nuclei in his body that took a greater hit. No longer would Sinclair be able to fully control an Omni. He was still telepathic which would be a great shock to vorlons and telepaths on both sides.

Not unless he wanted to wait a month that is. He would still be able to control such a machine, no problem, but it wouldn't be as smooth as before.

Jeffrey Sinclair was no more.

There was only Valen.

_1000 years ago. _

Valen waited patiently for the ships to arrive, the signal he'd set up was playing on all the Minbari war frequencies so they should be able to detect it soon enough.

He took a deep breath, trying desperately to control his nerves. One of the many disadvantages he now possessed as a Minbari male was the lack of body control, Time lord medical science had found ways of controlling the body, learning to move it in controlled machine like processes. In his new form Sinclair now found that he couldn't do the same thing.

He closed his eyes.

It had taken him a good month to get used to his newly transformed Minbari body - the Time lord essence the pyramid had distilled from him was now in a crystal, waiting to be returned to Earth.

Now he was ready.

But it was a major undertaking of course. He had so much to do, so much to organise.

It was then that 2 Minbari warriors appeared. They appeared paranoid, alert and cautious, Valen decided he liked them compared to their more arrogant descendents.

The two parties eyed each other.

Valen broke the silence, holding his arms out slowly, showing he wasn't a threat. History may not have recorded him being shot on sight, regardless of the law that the Minbari did not kill one of their own but he wasn't about to test that.

" I welcome you, and I present this place to you as a gift. I am called….Valen," he said his new name for the first time. Rassilon, he mused, that'll take time to get used to.

" And we have much work ahead of us."

The warriors looked at one another, realising at the same time that salvation was here at last. They'd scanned the station and found that it was more advanced than their former starbase.

Victory was in their grasp, but they didn't realise that the Time lords had intervened.

The circle, the Valen paradox was complete.

Please review.


	16. Chapter 16 The Mystery of The Alien

**The Lords of Time.**

**The Mystery of the Alien with Lightening.**

The Shadow mind looked at the devastation of the Z'ha dum system and was glad that the planet whilst under severe tectonic stress hadn't fallen apart yet.

The rest of the system however was a different story.

None of their ships, incoming or outgoing, could leave the system and fade into hyperspace. They had to travel on full sublight speed at a certain distance, causing delays in orders and irritating the Shadow mind no end, that was to say nothing about the number of ships destroyed recently, the breeding grounds, the ship building facilities..

All gone. Destroyed by the Time lords.

The only good thing that came out of all this was the fact that the interstellar alliance the Time lords had set up to combat the Shadows was now in a fragile state.

All because of the death of an old Vorlon. Oh, the Mind knew that it would've been preferable to kill the Time lords on the accursed space station, but there was a possibility that the Time lords COULD not be killed as easily as another alien.

Besides, the Vorlons were old enemies and relatively easy to destroy. There was also the added bonus of fracturing the alliance, showing that the Time lords were negligent and uncaring.

Either the alliance was destroyed or the Time lords lost allies, both were good probabilities to the Shadow mind.

But the Mind was frightened of the Time lords, especially since it had started to recall a time when an attack on a small colony who were supporters of the Vorlons in the last war.

**The planet was on fire, the buildings and forests were on fire. The beauty of the planet was eroding, like wax being melted in a candle. **

**The skies were filled with the cries of pain and death as the planet convulsed with the triumphant shrieks of the Shadow vessels-**

**The vessels were just about to leave when they sensed a presence on the planet. The mind was puzzled, all life on the planet had been reduced to ashes.**

**The ships went back. **

**On the surface was a man. A tall, robust man with a barrel chest and a square jawed face. He wore long robes of pure red. He was regal and powerful looking. **

**As soon as they came within range, one of the ships opened fire on him. It was….deflected away from him. **

**The figure was angry, he raised his hands and they started to glow blue. **

**Holding both his hands out a force of pure lightening erupted from his hands, engulfing one of the Shadow vessels, making it shriek in agony. The Mind was also in agony as the lightening passed from that one ship to another, then another, then another. **

**Desperately, the mind ordered for a personal attack. **

**Around the man came 5 Shadows, unprotected by their ships, moved through dimensions, all surrounding the mysterious figure in red.**

**The figure looked at the Shadows in all their insect like glory. The mind, using one of the Shadows as a conduit, could see that the figure was almost nonchalant, indifferent about what was about to happen to him. **

**He blasted the ships with a pulse from both his hands and they withered and died instantly. **

**The mind knew it wasn't going to like what happened next. **

**It was right. The figure looked at each of the Shadows in turn and started to spin, holding his hands out like he was holding something. **

**Each of the Shadows were curious about what was happening, but then they found out. The Shadows were masters of hyper spatial phasing, of all the first one races they were the ones who'd pioneered a way of entering and exiting hyperspace without some form of portal. **

**It also added a form of protection, you cannot hit what isn't there after all. **

**But now…**

**The figure ripped them violently from hyperspace, destroying their link to that plane of reality instantly. **

**Disorientated and in agony, the Shadows surrounding the figure looked at him. His face, icy and calm, was resolved. Raising his right hand he exposed his glowing palm. One of the Shadows started shrieking as it dissolved into ashes. **

**It wasn't long before the others shared the same fate. They weren't the only ones, the vessels in orbit and in hyperspace in a distance of 34 light years were dissolved by the same energy and power the figure had at his disposal. **

**The mind, reeling from the pain of loosing so many of its fellows, reeled again as a telepathic message came through. The voice, deep resonant, made the mind shiver at the implied threat. Normally the mind wasn't frightened but these weren't normal circumstances.**

" **I am one individual, but I have any entire species. They are watching you in places you cannot even begin to imagine. One day you will encounter a race more powerful than you or those pathetic older races. Then you will experience fear."**

" **The Lords of time will destroy you."**

The mind pulled itself out of the memory. Since that day so many had been eradicated the Shadows had been waiting for the events described in that threat.

The Time lord, presumably a Time lord on that planet, had wielded power even the First ones could never have. The Mind had decided after the attack on Earth never to attack them again, especially since the War Omnis seemed to possess most if not all the powers the stranger showed on that planet.

That was why the Vorlon ambassador had been killed instead of a Time lord.

The mind was convinced they were invincible.


	17. Chapter 17 Interlude The Walkers

**Interlude: The Walkers.**

Whilst the Vorlons and the Shadows were fighting the Time lords because they felt the unknown and mysterious people were threatening their respective ideologies, the other First Ones were content to watch and gather data instead of blundering in like their fellow First Ones and be destroyed.

The Walkers of Sigma - 957 were one of them. They despised the Vorlons for reasons known only to them and other First ones. The Walkers ignored everyone who came into the solar system of the planet they orbited, even those who opened communications with them. They were so bored by the galaxy but something native to all the other First ones told them to stay.

Some were asleep, hidden waiting for the day when they would be needed.

Whilst they did they noticed the Time lords. It was hard not to.

All First ones left in the galaxy were not entirely sure about what to make on them, on one hand they were delighted the Shadows and Vorlons were getting their just rewards. But on the other hand they were concerned, and rightfully so.

The Time lords disdain for the First Ones was well known but the more insightful of the ancients believed it had something to do with the Vorlons and the Shadows never ceasing conflict, especially since some of them, particularly the Walkers had noticed Lorien leaving for a part of the galaxy for reasons not known.

But now, they knew it was the part of the galaxy the Time lords originated from. The Walkers knew that Lorien, the wisest of the First ones, first of the First Born, the first race of beings that attained sentience, had travelled to Earth. The fact that he'd almost certainly touched the Time lord's ancestors was more than feasible. The only problem was that they knew they probably didn't appreciate having their genes scrambled.

The Walkers were a race devoted to gathering knowledge, they did this by travelling in different dimensions and as a result they knew of the Time lord's many achievements, even coming into contact the Founders themselves. The Time lord elite that granted their own race the power of time, space, matter, dimension and reality themselves. The Walkers had studied the Time lords, making sure to stay away from them. But they were curious and amazed by the younger race that had achieved a control of time that surpassed even the Guardians themselves.

The Walkers knew of the Guardians, oh yes. A race of scientists with the technology of time travel and the Walkers were aware the Time lords found one of their time ships and studied it and later devised a more powerful and practical time travel device.

The Walkers had made contact with the Time lords once the time vortex generator had been set up and activated in hyperspace, sensing kindred spirits and not bloodthirsty conquerors hellbent on annihilating life with their new powers.

The Walkers were explorers and could see the younger Time lords were explorers themselves.

The Time lords, surprised by the move, accepted the act of friendship and together they learnt more from each other and more about different dimensions. The Walkers didn't teach the Time lords anything, they already knew how to travel to different dimensions and how to catalogue them. But they did show that some First Ones were more receptive to the idea of leaving the galaxy and leaving the younger races forever. The Walkers learned one thing, the Time lords didn't despise all the First Ones, they just wanted them to leave and accept that nothing lasted forever and everything had its time and everything ends eventually.

How was it, that a younger race could understand the age of the First Ones was long since over whilst the First Ones couldn't see it ?

The Walkers were given something in return. A complete database of knowledge from different universes and times, along with a method of travelling in time, something they'd been working on for centuries and access, minute as it was, to the Time lord database.

The Walkers had been thankful for the gift and told the other First ones as soon as the Time lord's emerged from hiding that they could soon leave as soon as the Time lords dealt with the Vorlons and the Shadows.

A/N I wrote this after I received a review asking what the First ones thought of the Time lords. I chose the Walkers from the Babylon project wikia. The Walkers are explorers and traversed dimensions to expand their knowledge, so they were the logical choice.

Again, please leave a review.


	18. Chapter 18 The Vorlon Strike

The Vorlon strike.

**Ambassador G'kar was in the office of the Time lord president. Apart from his aide, Na'toth, he was the only one present in the room, but it gave the Narn a chance to observe the architecture of the Time lords. It was quite impressive and similar to that of many races, including his own. **

**The room was circular since circles played a strange importance in Time lord architecture, but then again the Minbari used triangles. The walls were quite high and were panelled with wood, strange as it may be. G'kar wondered why the Time lords, such an advanced species with strange customs, would use such a substance. Oh well, he decided, it wasn't his concern nor his business. **

**The room was dominated by the desk in the centre and behind it stood the huge windows which showed a large section of the capital city of the Time lords. G'kar walked over in huge strides to see the view. Earth was a beautiful world with green vegetation and bright with water with a cloudy atmosphere. **

**G'kar also took the time to observe the city, noting the twisting and slightly unusual design of many of the buildings, domes, towers and even some sections seemed to be…..floating ?**

**Odd, he thought to himself. **

**G'kar smiled to himself as he felt his aides' impatience. **

" **Really Na'toth, you should come and stand by me. Come, see the surprises the Time lords have to show."**

**Na'toth reminded him of his servant, a Centauri girl aged 13. She'd been impossible, arrogant and bigoted as all of her foul race. But he'd broken her….**

**As she stood by him he looked at her. Na'toth's face was hard, even by the standards of the Narns but even so she gave off a tough exterior which hid the pain in her past as he did his own. **

**He'd lost his father to the Centauri and made sure the slave he had understood that by the way he treated her. **

**He was interrupted from his thoughts by Na'toths' voice, " The Time lords are strange, they've built a city that looks like it floats."**

" **Only in some places. " **

**The two Narns turned around to see the president behind them. She had a smile on her face as she took in the visitors reaction to the city her race had built. **

" **Please, sit down," she said gesturing to two chairs. The Narns sat down, hoping to get their business over and done with quickly. **

**Rose folded her hands and looked at the couple before getting down to business, **

" **You requested a meeting, may I ask why ?"**

**G'kar nodded and begun, " I understand the Ancient Enemy, the ones you call the Shadows have returned," he waited, expecting an affirmation. He was disappointed, " Well, we would like to join you in your fight."**

**Rose nodded and stood up and gazed out the window. " What would you ask in return, G'kar ? We've already starting reconstructing your planet."**

" **Yes, slowly." **

**Rose and G'kar turned to the speaker, Na'toth had quietly muttered under her breath the remark.**

" **We have our reasons for the slow reconstruction of your planet. Four quarters of our people and resources are tied up. One quarter is dealing with the Shadows, controlling the Centauri, another is exploring in regions of reality beyond your comprehension, another is maintaining our temporal research facilities. The last quarter is neutral."**

" **Neutral ?" G'kar didn't understand.**

**Rose sighed, " Alright. Time lord laws, one group of us remains neutral and the rest maintain our doctrine. We Time lords are explorers, which is one of the many reasons we stayed out of galactic affairs until the last decade."**

**G'kar understood. War was a costly business, it used up resources and it slowed down rebuilding projects once it was finished. **

" **What would you offer if you were allowed to fight ?" Rose asked. She knew the answers already, she just wanted to find out.**

**G'kar nodded and held out a holographer. Out of it came a 3D image of a Narn warship, but Rose recognised it as a type that was fundamentally different and radical from the ships already in use.**

**The design also worried her because of the temporal projection of the more militant Narns - this ship would have the power to virtually shatter a Minbari cruiser and would be a symbol of Narn dictatorship. **

**Rose had to admit the design was impressive, it was more powerful and more compact than other Narn warships. The technology the ship used came from the Time lords, in measured amounts. Time lord policy about helping other races was incredibly limited. It all stemmed from the incident with the Minyans, the memories of how that race wiped themselves out using knowledge and technology from the Time lords was a constant reminder. **

**With the Narn regime it was a different story, the Minyans hadn't left their solar system. In fact they were just a primitive race that the Time lords decided to play god with, an experiment similar to the one Lorien did with Rose's people. **

**The Time lords had decided they could do a better job back then. **

**Arrogance. **

**In this case, however, it was allowed because the Narns were a space faring society, but even so the Time lords didn't give them the exact technologies but they did give the principles of gravimetric science. **

**Rose was a little uneasy about the idea of the Narns joining in because they could easily become a major threat in the future, but then again the Narns helping the Time lords could help them see the Time lords as some races saw the Vorlons. **

**The Vorlons….**

**She was presently worried about them since they sealed their already impenetrable borders in last few months but then again Rose felt they would be back. **

**Turning her mind back to the conversation, Rose looked at the Narn hologram with G'kar looking at her, he was obviously trying to hold back his excitement. **

" **If you send us these ships, what do you ask in return ?" Rose asked. **

" **Complete power over the Centauri republic." **

**Rose didn't like the sound of that. The Centauri were already under the control of the Narns and that extended to slavery and the president knew that G'kar already had a dozen slaves. **

**There was another reason, the alternate timeline that the Time lords had seen where the Centauri were exterminated by the Narns. **

**The last thing Rose wanted was that timeline to become the dominant one.**

" **What do you mean ?" **

**G'kar explained, " Ever since we were occupied by the Centauri, many of my people want to pay them back in full. To do that we need conquer them completely."**

**Rose frowned, anger starting to creep in to every pore of her body, " I see, you do realise that that would be a direct and clear violation of our…arrangement. Do you really think I'm going to let that happen ?"**

**Na'toth sneered ignoring G'kar's warning, " What can you do, Time lord ?**

**That was it. **

**Rose stood up so fast she was like a flash of lightening. Her eyes were burning like two supernovae and her hair was crackling like it electric. **

**Her hand was outstretched pointing directly at Na'toth. **

**The young Narn clutched her throat as there was a sudden pressure on her larynx, G'kar watched before he got up and tried to interject but Rose flicked her wrist at him and sent him against the far wall where he impacted with a bang. **

**The bang alerted the guards outside who rushed in and saw the scene. **

" **I have it under control," the president said darkly. Both guards believed her. **

**For a moment Rose held the Narn by the throat, then she simply let her go. **

" **Don't try my patience again, Narn. With a thought I could decimate your planet into little cinders. I could bury you so far underground your gods wouldn't find you." Rose felt some satisfaction that Na'toth shivered at the sound of her voice. **

**She turned to G'kar, who'd managed to get up. " Tell your people this, if they damage the Centauri in anyway, then we shall reverse the terraformation of your planet to the point water would become the most valuable commodity on Narn," she threw a data crystal at him. **

" **you will send a small force of your forces to those co-ordinates. The crystal also contains a picture of us destroying the atmosphere of your world. Tell your people, if you thought the Centauri were bad you've never seen what we can do. Get out."**

**The two frightened Narns managed to get out before the Bloodlust and adrenaline got to Rose. She took a deep breath, using all her considerable knowledge of the mental disciplines to calm down.**

**Time lords had tapped the powers of the higher dimensions centuries before, coupled with their immensely powerful mental abilities and mental disciplines, they made nasty opponents. **

**With these powers a Time lord was able to control the elements - fire, water and air, they could slow and speed and in some cases, freeze time. They were able to manipulate, to a point, the building blocks of the universe and this ability made them very dangerous when provoked. **

**When a Time lord tapped into their rage and pain, this could lead to what they called the Bloodlust, it was similar to what would happen if a Time lord looked into the time vortex they created, they'd become a god, a vengeful, almighty god with powers to change the course and shape of time and reality. **

**The Bloodlust was the most dangerous thing a Time lord could experience, it reduced the reason and rationality a Time lord was stood for. It worked by tapping into rage, a powerful emotion and it could override the ability to think straight and see reason. **

**Of course, like regeneration, a Time lord underwent numerous mental courses to control their powers and occasionally, there were some that couldn't do it and had to be trained more rigorously. **

**Regeneration was also an occasional cause of Bloodlust because the regeneration shook up the mind and the brain cells, which could lead to temporary madness and, in some cases, psychosis. **

**Rose had almost been seduced by the dark addictive power of Bloodlust by almost crushing Na'toth's throat, it was lucky that there had been the mental presence of the Time lords on the planet to stop that from happening. She'd tapped directly into the vortex, feeling the beautiful presence of her race and using that to maintain her control. **

**It was a miracle that she'd used the crushing power, if she'd used the lightening power then nothing would've saved her.**

**Her thoughts and control over her emotions were shelved by the arrival of a Time lady wearing the defence forces uniform, her expression urgent. **

**That was the reason Rose didn't reprimand her. **

" **Madam President, urgent new from Proxima 3 colony. The Vorlons have attacked it."**

_**Proxima 3.**_

**Proxima 3, one of the most important planets in the Time lord Commonwealth, one of the sites for the Time lord hyperspace conduit network and one of the trading and commercial outposts the Time lords had under their control. Money wasn't a necessity for the Time lords but many of their contacts required it and so it was a necessary evil.**

**The Vorlon fleet had jumped in 5 minutes ago and they were trying to destroy the Time lord facilities. **

**Emphasise on trying.**

**The Time lords were holding their own, something their ancient attackers deemed " intolerable," there was nothing they could do, despite having a large number of ships, including a planet killer. **

**The War Omni's, along with the fighters and other attack craft, opened fire on the Vorlon ships, managing to destroy a fair number of them. **

**One Omni fired a green bubble at one of the dreadnoughts and the larger warship was suddenly enveloped by the green energy. **

**The bubble somehow managed to break down the Vorlon battleship, corroding it, eroding it, breaking bits of it up and reducing even the debris to dust. Eventually, there was nothing left. **

**More of the Vorlon ships were destroyed from the inside out, this was done by a yellow light being fired at each ship. But it didn't damage the hull, instead, the energy weapons were targeted at the hyperspace energy taps. **

**Hyperspace energy was remarkable because the universe literally powered the ships the Vorlons and the Shadows possessed, as such, the energy was vital because the organic components were genetically grown to thrive on the energy. **

**The Vorlons learnt of their mistake the instant their ships died on them. The ships started to decay, very rapidly, their bodies becoming duller and duller as their energy died and gave out on them.**

**There were no survivors.**

**A/ N I know, not one of my best chapters but it's the best I can do. The next one will be better.**


	19. Chapter 19

**The Meeting.**

The one good thing about having the ability to astral walk was that there was nothing old and always something new.

Lorien enjoyed that one little facet of his immortality, being born naturally immortal could be, at times, disheartening and painful.

If you were immortal and had a favourite pet or species or even a whole planet, what would you do if that died. You gained a new favourite, and later do the same thing when that dies out.

Lorien had stopped doing that centuries ago, the pain of each loss had made sure that he gained no favourites.

The First ones later followed that particular philosophy, especially when they saw that the good things that today's younger races - love, joy and companionship were merely transitory and that would later turn to ash.

Lorien also took the time to learn about the war going on outside the barriers of the piece of rock that he was on, and he couldn't help but despair. The First one races had strayed in their own ways - the Vorlons believed in virtually unattainable goals, just like the Shadows.

Destruction did not herald results. They just couldn't see it.

Lorien could recall easily the way both races had received his people, the worshipfulness and reverence transmuted to pure hatred after only a million years.

It saddened him that his own children hated him. The wisdom he'd imparted on some of the ancient races had been well received, they'd taken his gifts, enhanced them, changed them into their own image.

The Vorlons and the Shadows….both stubborn, unable to see past their interminable conflict and unwilling to listen to anyone, even him. For thousands of years since his self imposed exile to Z'ha dum, Lorien had watched and sobbed as he saw planets and races fall in the stupid conflict about order over chaos.

It was madness !

" Then help us end it."

Lorien couldn't believe it. Breaking out of his meditations, he saw something he hadn't expected.

A man, a tall man. He was wearing a long, regal red robe decorated with gold, with a black tunic with a medallion with some sort of circular symbol on it.

His face was broad and handsome with grey brown hair and brown eyes, which were burning with intelligence.

Lorien squinted at him, trying to get a feel for him. But his temporal sight wasn't working on him.

" Who are you ?"

The man smiled, or was it a smirk ? Lorien wasn't sure, he hadn't seen a living being in a long time, so he wasn't good at telling one facial expression from another.

" I am Rassilon, one of the first of the Time lords. The race you adjusted many centuries ago."

An image came to Lorien's mind, of ape like creatures living in trees, a green blue planet floating in space, Lorien recognised the area and the planet instantly as the place he'd gone to too escape from the never ending wars between the first ones.

The image changed, showing the numerous achievements of the Time lords, Lorien was amazed, not even the Shadows had advanced in such a short amount of time.

" Your people have come far, I have witnessed them."

Rassilon said simply, " I know."

Lorien was desperate to say something to get the mysterious alien to speak to him, not just for conversations sake, he wanted desperately to find out what the Time lords had done.

" How did you become what you are ?"

Rassilon smiled again, only less tightly that before, " After you left, after you…adjusted my people's genetic structure, we started evolving over a very brief period of 20,000 years. We started down the path of technology, the fire, the wheel, building huts and weapons and tools to defend ourselves and tame our lands."

" We built boats, then ships, powered by wind and later steam, later nuclear power. After the aerial breakthrough, my ancestors charted and colonised the rest of our world. You may have affected our genetic structure to enable us to become smarter, but we felt the need to understand our planet first."

Lorien accepted that and let the Time lord continue.

" We built spacecraft, using gravity technology, later hyperspace technology. We started exploring the cosmos, beginning our quest for knowledge and wisdom. Thanks to you and the exploration of the cosmos, we were introduced to the concept of time travel."

" My people have always had an unusual relationship with time, we perceive it differently from you and others. Realising this, we began our greatest project - the conquest and mastery of time itself."

Rassilon knew that he was giving an abridged version to the story, but he didn't care.

" Building a vast warp tunnel generator in hyperspace, we sent it into the future by a faster than light drive that took complete advantage of time dilation, powering it up and the time fields created a time corridor, opening from the point it was activated to the end of the universe."

Rassilon reared up, chin held high, " We'd become the Time Lords."

Lorien had listened with rapt attention as Rassilon explained how the Time lords and their mastery of time itself came about.

All the First ones were aware of time travel, but they had no method, no way of utilising it properly, but the Time lord method was well thought out and well planned and acted upon.

Lorien managed to get a feel of the Time lord sitting across from him and was astounded by the lack of…existence he felt from him.

Rassilon broke through his thoughts. " I know you know. I'm not really here."

Suddenly he was standing right next to Lorien, then as quick as a flash, he was right behind him. Then he jumped back to where he'd been sitting across from the ancient being.

" I exist now, like the rest of the founders on another plain of existence. One day, my whole race will reside there as creatures of eternity."

Rassilon looked directly at Lorien, " You can help bring the war to a successful end. All you need to do is leave the planet and travel to a space station."

Lorien was puzzled, " How can I, you people ruptured hyperspace around this planet ?"

The painful backlash Lorien had received when the Time lords launched their assault on Z'ha dum hadn't been pleasant, he couldn't astral walk for weeks and he knew that the Shadows had been affected just as badly.

" Not unless you leave now and jump a light year away from the planet."

Lorien accepted.

Now, he had a reason to leave.

The Time lord explained to him what was needed from him and how to go about it, but the last word from him was all that was needed.


	20. Chapter 20

_**The First of the First. **_

_Susan Ivanova was standing in C in C when the jump gate controller on duty spoke up. The Time lords used the hyperspace conduits and higher dimensional drives to traverse space, whilst the lesser races used jump points and jump gates. It was a primitive solution to travelling through hyperspace, but it was a necessary evil. _

_Thus the necessity behind the controller. _

" _Commander, alien ship is nearing the jump point connection to local jump gate. It'll be here in 2 standard hours. It's configuration matches one thing in our database, Lorien's cruiser. "_

_Susan swung round, " What, what does he want ?"_

" _We could send a fighter to find out."_

_Susan had other ideas, " No, when he jumps out make sure his ship docks in the security section. Alert all sections, inform the captain."_

" _Aye Commander."_

_It wasn't long before Sheridan was standing next to his first officer and was just as curious. Like all Time lords, he was aware that Lorien had been residing on Z'ha dum for centuries. _

_But why would the ancient actually make contact with them ?_

" _Sir, jump gate opening. Ancient vessel approaching."_

" _Ready docking bays."_

_It wasn't long before the alien was brought directly to the conference room. Lorien looked around the room, noting the fact that there were no other aliens in the room except the Time lords._

" _Sit down." The Time lord at the head of the table ordered._

_Seeing no reason not to Lorien did just that._

_Before they got started, 2 aliens appeared in the room, Lorien recognised them as Minbari. They took their seats and Lorien noticed that none of the Time lords present even looked at the pair. _

_The Time lord- lady ? - near the one at the head of the table spoke up, " Why are you here ?"_

_Lorien decided to come clean, " I was on Z'ha dum," he noticed the concern and awe on both Minbari's faces and the indifference on the Time lord's faces, so they'd known he was there. Interesting._

" _A Time lord came to me."_

_Ivanova shared a look with Sheridan, not many planets were off limits to their race but Z'ha dum was near the top 10 on the list. _

" _Who was it ?" Susan had been planning on hearing any other name but this one._

" _I believe he is called Rassilon."_

_Now that brought some emotion to the Time lords, they started whispering and huddling amongst themselves, ignoring their guest and the Minbari. _

_Dukhat decided enough was enough, time to get some answers, " Excuse me, but who is Rassilon ?"_

_Sheridan looked at him in surprise, " I thought you'd studied basic Time lord history."_

" _Not all of it," Dukhat admitted, " There's so much."_

_Susan sighed, " Rassilon was one of the founders of our race and the tradition we hold as Time lords. He, Omega, the Priestess, Toshiko Sato, Merlin, Andrew and Ryan. Between them they created the time vortex, the corridor that links every point in time together and created the time travel theories that made our Omni's and time portals possible."_

_Garibaldi spoke up, the light glinting on his cranium, " After that, the founders set about using the vortex to study time and space, eventually they left. Disappeared. No one knows where they went, there are dozens of theories but no one knows for sure."_

_Delenn was struggling to understand, " When was the time vortex created ?" _

" _Millions of years ago, even a Time lord as powerful as Rassilon couldn't survive that."_

_Dukhat asked, just as confused, " How could he be alive ?"_

_Franklin made a few theories, " It couldn't have been a projection, I think…." he trailed off slightly at the implications presented. _

" _Yes ?" Ivanova asked. _

_Frankin said quietly, " There's a theory that Rassilon was trying to discover the next stage of our evolution and considering what we've just learnt, it's a possibility he succeeded."_

" _Then where the hell has he been ?"_

_Franklin didn't have an answer for that. _


	21. Chapter 21

**The Final Battle. **

" Where are you ? Show yourself."

Sheridan found himself….nowhere. A nameless void. But he knew that this was Vorlon in origin. The battle at Corinas 3 had been going well, both the Vorlons and the Shadows had lost a number of ships after falling for a trap set up by the Time lords.

It had been relatively easy to sacrifice one of the whitestar ships, it was fortunate that only a small crew had been onboard the ship as it was destroyed.

The Vorlon planet killer had been destroyed in the first 3 minutes of the battle and now this. It had been a part of the Time lord's battle plan to allow one of their telepaths to act as a conduit for both enemies and bring Sheridan here. He had a feeling that the Shadow cloud had enveloped the Time lord fleet and their allies, including the remaining first ones.

Don't play games with me, he thought in rising anger.

Finally, a light appeared illuminating a woman in what looked like a block of ice, crystal or glass; Sheridan didn't know and frankly didn't care.

The woman didn't speak but he could hear her speak, " We are here, we do not understand you. We only want what is best for you. We only want to help you."

Knowing this was the Vorlon telepathic essence, John took his time. He knew that the others could hear him.

" You're destroying whole worlds," he stated. It was true, the Vorlons had been destroying worlds with ties to the Shadows, but the attack on Proxima had been for revenge for the death of Kosh.

The Time lords had seen an alternate reality in their temporal projections that the Centauri would've joined the Shadows more openly, albeit unknowingly and unaware that their allies were that destructive in their aims. That was one of the principal reasons the Time lords occupied the Centauri and destroyed their already existing alliance.

The woman spoke again, the voice was emotionless but Sheridan was certain that the words and their tone was meant to be prideful and smug.

" The others are a disease, you have given us the opportunity to eliminate it. We are grateful, why do you oppose us ?"

Finally John got to the heart of the conversation, he only hoped the Vorlons listened.

" The Time lords have known for centuries what this conflict was all about, and we've prepared for it. We oppose you because of the waste and the fact your ideologies are impossible to attain. Chaos against order, that's what you're fighting for."

" The Vorlons stand for one thing above everything else in creation; order. You don't have any passions, no dreams, no drive to improve yourselves. Just discipline and obedience. You're stuck, an evolutionary dead end."

So far so good, no protests so he kept on going.

" My people are traditional, just like the Minbari, but unlike them we know that something always exists around the corner. You should know that, you opened a hole in reality and latched on to the most hostile reality in existence. My people locked that reality off and stopped that race by shutting down the link between hyperspace and normal space. You endangered this universe because of your desire, your pride."

Sheridan got onto the point of the war, " I think some of those races finally understood, when they saw your planet killers cut a swathe through half of the planets in this galaxy. They realised that you had the power, the technology, the means and the motive to destroy Z'ha dum."

Sheridan looked squarely into the woman's veiled face, " Why didn't you ?"

" You would not understand."

Sheridan caught the tone, it was like the Vorlons believed that they and they alone knew what they doing, that all the younger races were still infantile children. It didn't occur to them that they might be growing up and he wasn't going to take it

" Don't speak to me as if I'm from one of the younger races, my people transcended that pathetic registry aeons ago. I do understand, a Vorlon once said that understanding is a 3 edged sword - your side, their side and the truth."

John smirked, " The truth is this; we do not need you, any of the First ones. The other ancient races understand and better still, they've accepted that. You can't because of your quest, to prove which one is right."

" That's what this is all about, you're trying to prove which one is right. You and the Shadows are like a couple of parents arguing in front of their kids, manipulating them, trying to make them pick their sides. Not for their benefit of course, but yours !"

Sheridan pointed a finger towards the Vorlon essence, " I don't understand one thing, once this is over, what then ? Celebrations, no, of course not," he added mockingly, " Vorlons don't have a sense of humour, oh no. You'll probably manipulate the truth just like you've done for millions of years. Planets destroyed, you'll come up with a pathetic excuse and the other races won't question you. Just the way you like it, " John sneered disdainfully, finally letting out his races pure contempt of these aliens.

" Answer me one thing, when my people came along, did you expect it ? When Valen appeared what was your reaction ? Jeffrey Sinclair removed his Time lord essence and became a pure Minbari, more or less since he still had Human blood and passed that on to the Minbari people. What did you think ?"

No answer.

Sheridan nodded satisfied, " Right, you've answered my questions for me; you weren't expecting Valen and couldn't get a read on him since he was still Time lord enough to keep his timeline hidden from you. You didn't know who he was, what he was and why he'd turned up."

" When my people appeared, the same thing happened, didn't it ? You didn't understand us, you classified us as a younger race but we weren't so trusting, were we ? I bet it was the attack on Proxima, when you attacked the colony and outposts in that area that you realised what you were up against."

Sheridan took a deep breath, " About which one of you is right, what if we just ignore you using us as chess pieces, what if we simply walk away ?"

Sheridan had stressed the last three words to let the Vorlons know he meant it.

That got a reaction as the essence said as desperately as it could in its emotionless quality.

" You cannot do that,"

" Then the war will never end ?"

" That is correct,"

Sheridan nodded, satisfied that the rest were hearing this tripe and realising the extent of the Vorlon's insanity. The war never ending was a bad thing, the galaxy contained a finite number of races and it took millions, if not billions, of years for any new species to evolve. The job at hand would be challenging and long, but not impossible.

The Vorlons and the Shadows would need to evaluate potentials, separating the weak from the strong, teach them technologies, bend them to their rule and will.

No more.

" You know, of course, that the Time lords are picking this up and transmitting it throughout the galaxy ?"

No answer, but John knew that the essence was stunned.

Finally, the Vorlon woman spoke. What she said made John almost roar in anger, the bloody bitch hadn't even taken the time to listen.

" There is only order and obedience, you will do as you are told."

Sheridan sneered, " What makes you think the Time lords will take that ? They'll wipe you out."

There was no reply again, but there was a shock. A telepathic wave rippled through the void, it was so strong that Sheridan saw the woman open her eyes. Dimly, he saw they were a violet colour.

Cracks started to appear just as a hand with long fingers appeared, Loriens' voice echoing as he said,

" Hurry, take my hand."

Without hesitation, Sheridan did, just as the void and woman shattered into atoms.

Sheridan woke up on the bridge of the Time lord cruiser, Lyta Alexander standing far away, watching him and Delenn, both of them had spoken to the enemy, but they knew they hadn't managed to persuade them to stop.

Sheridan touched the comm panel on his chair, " Susan, did you hear it, did the whole fleet hear what they said ?"

It was imperative that they had, the other races needed to know that the older races had manipulated them for centuries and must be stopped.

" They did, but the Shadow death cloud is now surrounding a good portion of the allied fleet, but I've got some war Omni's dealing with them now." Susan said reassuringly.

" Good."

Delenn moved closer, " I cannot believe it, we've figured out the truth and they still can't see reason, see reality. They'd rather we died here instead of finishing their wars."

Lorien stepped over, " No, they aren't quite finished. Look." he gestured towards a corner of the bridge where they all saw the images of a Vorlon and a Shadow. It was weird seeing both of them there because they'd gone to such lengths to remain hidden.

" They've come for you to ask forgiveness, choose, but carefully. The next few minutes will determine the outcome of this. I cannot help you." Lorien finished, walking away.

Sheridan and Delenn stood together - Time lord and Minbari - against the older aliens. Where to start.

It was Sheridan that got the ball rolling, " The Vorlons ask the same question, over and over, " who are you ?" for you," he pointed at the Shadow projection, " the question is " what do you want ?"

" I've never heard you answer those questions yourselves, who are you ? What do you want ?" He asked of their respective questioners.

Neither spoke.

Delenn now spoke, her voice one of great disappointment, " You've forgotten, haven't you ? You've been fighting each other now for so long that you don't even remember who you are and what you want. How can we know who we are and what we want if you don't even know."

But the Time lord next to her got at the real heart at the matter, the revelation that the Vorlons and the Shadows had been fighting each other for so long they'd forgotten what their own basics was proof of their unreliability.

" It doesn't matter though, does it ? Ten centuries from now, the circle will have gone round again to the stage it was a brief while ago - the Shadows returning to Z'ha dum, rebuilding their forces and places of power, relying on the Vorlons, building an army against the Shadows….round and round."

" It doesn't matter if we die does it ? There are dozens of races waiting to be created, waiting to be manipulated. You've done it before, you can do it again. On and on, the war would last. Never stopping, every race, every planet…."

Delenn now took up the argument, " The others have rejected you. How can you fight a war when no one else would do it for you ?"

Sheridan declared, " We've decided its over. Get out of the galaxy now, both of you."

Neither spectre spoke.

Lorien moved forward, " As I taught you and then stepped aside, now you must do the same. Our age has passed. This now belongs to the younger races now," he said, gesturing out of the viewports of the nebula and asteroids nearby.

" Time to let them go."

There was something….hesitant about the Shadow's voice, " Will you come with us ?"

Lorien smiled kindly, " I have been here since the beginning. I shall not leave now and we can finally meet those who went before us, all those who we have missed for so long."

The Vorlon's tone was just as tentative as the Shadow's, " Then we will not be alone ?"

" No, of course not."

Both spectres vanished.

Outside was a flurry of activity as the Shadow and Vorlon ships left through hyperspace. A few of the War Omni's passed along with them, making sure both of them actually left.

After what had been happening, the Time lords weren't going to take any chances.

Lorien turned to face the Time lords and the one Minbari.

He smiled sadly, but happily, " I waited a long time for someone to find me, but now, like the others I find I hate to leave. But, this time it was necessary. This time no one could be left behind, that's why it was vital to find the remaining first ones."

Grandly, he gestured at the vista of the viewport.

" This is yours now. You will need to guide the next generation, nurture them and then step aside so they could embrace their own destinies."

" One day, I shall watch as you join us beyond the rim."

As Lorien disappeared, turning into a being of light, they all heard him say, " We shall wait for you."

The war was over.


	22. Chapter 22 The Eternal

**Finally, I've finished the Vorlon - Shadow war. Now I can get back to my imagination and not be bogged down for a while. Expect new updates regularly.**

**The Eternal. **

Andrew Harlan, junior technician of Eternity, was doing his rounds. Sitting at his console, Harlan punched in information of the latest reality changes on schedule.

Nothing for the next few days. Good.

The Eternals, like the Voyagers, were an elite Time lord group, meant for the best and the brightest. The Voyagers were like the Time agents, only far more direct.

The Eternals, on the other hand, had the privilege of maintaining time and space, changing events and making alterations. Even in other realities. The whole idea was to maintain order in time and space, reporting discrepancies to the council.

The Eternals changed history to mainly ensure the race they were, as they called it, " adjusting ", were happy and they didn't remove their most greatest qualities. Such an action had been banned by the Founders and only a fool would revoke it.

Harlan punched in data of alternate realities 2345 and 55690; even Time lords got shaken by the sheer number of alternate realities that were out there. Knowing about it was one thing, charting them and their numerous infernal differences was another.

Still it had to be done.

2 years later.

The reality change was relatively easy to pull off thanks to the Time lord technique. Harlan watched in awe and slight guilt as the change occurred. He, like many, hated the fact that sometimes you needed to alter history on a massive extent. It was all done for progress, like for instance the cure to a disease, the ending of a war and so on.

So much could go wrong.

Reality manipulation wasn't a game, it had to be calculated and controlled down to the last detail. It took even the Time lords months to chart the numerous variables and simulations always seemed to bring up a loophole in the equations.

The console chirped.

The change was complete.

A/N - Andrew Harlan and Eternity comes from Isaac Asimov's novel THE END OF ETERNITY. It's worth the read, believe me.


	23. Chapter 23 The Eternal Apprentice

**The Eternal Apprentice.**

Andrea Cooper looked around the massive reality control chamber. It was one of the largest rooms in the Time lord commonwealth and held inside its own dimensional sphere like the interior of an Omni. All around were Eternals, the elite group dedicated to reality manipulations.

Around her were her fellow apprentices, wearing the black and white tunics of novices or apprentice Time lords. Some Time lords, like Andrew Harlan, who was conducting the tour, stayed in their one position for the majority of their regenerations, whilst others changed them with each renewal.

Cooper had no set plan herself, a part of her wanted to serve the Commonwealth and contribute to the running of reality and maintain the Time lord position of masters of Time and Space.

At lunch, Cooper decided to question Harlan.

" Sir," she began timidly, waiting for Harlan to notice her. When he did, staring at her with his grey eyes, she carried on, " I was wondering, why do we alter reality ?"

Harlan paused, " I thought that the idea of the Eternals and our role in time had been covered by the Academy."

" They have, but I'd like to hear it from the point of view from an Eternal, not a teacher," Cooper said in a rush.

All the apprentices looked up from the meals and their holo computers to regard the conversation.

Harlan looked Andrea square in the eyes, " What's your name ?"

Andrea said in a rush, " Andrea Cooper."

Harlan smiled at the little Time lady's enthusiasm, " Well, Andrea Cooper, the role of the Eternals is to ensure other races security whilst maintaining the status quo. By altering reality, we ensure races travel into space and encounter other races. We do this by altering history on a small level. Even a minute change has consequences in the long run."

One of the other apprentices piped up, " Why didn't the Eternals change the history of the Galaxy to ensure the Vorlons and the Shadows didn't go to war ?"

Harlan pierced the apprentice's gaze with an icy look, " Why do you think ? Great Time, what's wrong with the Academy, not teaching proper temporal mechanics ? Fixed events in time, they are not meant to be changed, but their beginnings can. For instance, say we changed history around the founders, what do you think would happen if we altered history to the point where Omega wasn't on the team that designed and created the vortex generator and the Eye of Harmony ?"

All apprentices looked at one another, starting to understand. The Eye of Harmony was one of the greatest feats of Time lord temporal engineering, without it the Time lords would have never been able to build the vortex and Gain power over eternity.

Harlan carried on, knowing what the younglings were thinking, they understood time and its myriad of causes and effects.

" We wouldn't be Time lords and hold the position of power that we hold today. We also ensure that others races don't discover time travel in order to misuse it."

And also ensure that we, the Time lords, are the masters of Time and space.

Andrea still wasn't satisfied, " Why do we change the histories of others ?"

Harlan sighed, " I've just answered the question. Weren't you listening ?"

Andrea flushed, " I was, Eternal, I was just wondering why do the Time lords take it on themselves to alter the histories of others ?"

Andrew sighed again, " When the founders created the Vortex and gazed at eternity they discovered that many species were misusing time travel. No matter how primitive the method, time travel can be misused. History can be altered on levels that even we cannot predict. The founders deemed it unacceptable and founded the orders of the Time agencies, the Voyagers and the Eternals. The Time agents and the Voyagers travel through space and time and even reality, giving history an appropriate push here and there, when its needed. The Voyagers are the ones that are better trained for that particular duty, their Omni's are calibrated with historical tempographical readers which indicate time's alignment."

" The Time agents are our police force, they patrol time and space and ensure no one alters the flow of history. They also protect our operations in the multiverse."

Andrew took a sip of his orange juice, " The Eternals on the other hand, make sure that time is not altered. We protect reality and map the multitude of convergent realities. We change history to do this, ensuring someone is around at the right place at the right time, making sure a treaty is signed, stopping an orbital weapon being launched and bringing about peace processes to warring planets."

" We don't alter history to massive extents, but we have the power to. When we change an event or a day, the future changes, not severe enough to destroy that race, but enough to ensure that race prospers. The Eternals are meant to keep history and maintain the equilibrium of time and space."

One of the other apprentices had to ask at that point, " Does it ever worry you might be doing is wrong ?"

Andrew sighed, wishing this class was more intelligent, " The Time lords patrol history, we maintain time and space, we observe history. Is that wrong ? No, is our ability to manipulate time and reality to ensure survival of other races wrong ? I don't think so."

The apprentices left, but they didn't think that the Eternals were socially wrong.


	24. Chapter 24

**Ascension.**

**3 million years into the Future.**

Earth was silent. The laboratories, buildings, everything that made the planet what it was, was silent. Even the eye of harmony, the fabled power source of the Time lords was gone, disconnected from Earth to the time vortex generator in hyperspace.

Even the birds were gone, along with every other form of life on the planet's surface and oceans.

But there were a few still there. Wearing long white - grey robes, they worked calmly and quietly, making preparations to leave.

There were 3 of them, 2 men and a woman. All three were bald, showing off their pale crowns.

The woman spoke up from the console she was working on, " I've set the timer, we can go whenever."

One of the men nodded, " Very good. Go, I'll follow you."

The other two looked at one another, but the other man shook his head, " No, we stay."

The leader didn't protest this, instead he looked around the room they were in, the High Council room. In this room, so many things were discussed, great historical events planned and decided.

" Here is how the world, our dynasty ends, swallowed in fire, but not in darkness. We shall live on, the voices of our ancestors, our history, the whispers of us. All shall be good."

The three of them glanced at one another, then joined their hands and closed their eyes. They concentrated, then they started to glow, their physical forms started dissolving. After a minute, the Time lords had been replaced by some form of white energy.

Outwardly, there was no way, no conceivable way for them to communicate with outsiders, but telepathically they could speak.

The one who seemed female spoke, " _We should go into the vortex, the sun will go nova in just a few hours."_

" _Not yet, _" the leader spoke, " _I wish to savour this moment. If you wish then you can go without me."_

" _No, we'll stay." _

For over an hour and a half, the beings stayed, to an outside observer they were just hovering, but they were doing more than that. With their senses they were able to feel the atoms of their great world, the world which had nurtured their people for aeons.

As they did, they also noted the sun, sol had been dying for the last 10, 000 years. The stabilisation of the star had been a major feat of Time lord solar engineering. But now, with the Time lord race evolved they no longer needed their world, nor their sun, so they reversed their stabilisation of their star.

Now, long overdue, their star was dying and was about to explode.

The Time lords didn't know what the end result would be. Dead stars were unpredictable, they could either become a supernova with a neutron star inside, or a black hole.

" _We should go," _the leader said telepathically.

Inside the time vortex is unimaginable energies, both from hyperspace, gravitational and chronometric. The hyperspace taps helped maintain the black holes and their gravitational energy was moved through time, becoming duo gravito temporal energy. A side effect was the time winds and energies that would tear a normal ship to shreds or the temporal flux would move atoms into either the past or the future.

It made the perfect home for the Time lords, for centuries they'd used it to power their civilisation, thanks to the eye of harmony, the black hole, which was on both sides of the corridor, on Earth, and held inside their time machines, which were now de powered and littered their solar system, waiting for destruction.

Now, the evolved Time lords would live here.

For all of time and space.

**Extract from History of The Races. Written by G'lorn. **

**For centuries, the Time lords had ruled a dominion undreamt of in history by any other, their kingdom over time and space reached into corners which were unnoticed by the others in their home galaxy. **

**The Time lords were unlike the Vorlons and the other First ones, they were more powerful, unafraid of moving through the galaxies, for whom could fight the Time lords on their own ground. **

**After their sun went nova, all their colonies, their city ships and their remarkable OMNI machines….vanished from the galaxy. The Time lords never openly traded their technology to anyone in existence. **

**Their final disappearance remains a mystery. Do they still exist ? Are they all dead ?**

**We shall never know. **

**THE END. **


End file.
